Cold Wind Blows
by MisterMisfortune
Summary: After Raimundo was appointed Shoku Warrior, he was sent away to war and never seen again.  His friends can either accept this fate and replace him or refuse it and set out to find out what became of the Xiaolin Dragon of the Wind. RaiXKim
1. The War

**Summary: After Raimundo was appointed Shoku Warrior, he was sent away to war and never seen again. His friends can either accept this fate and replace him or refuse it and set out to find what became of the Xiaolin Dragon of thw Wind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown or any of its characters**

**This is just a little introductory chapter, the next one will be much longer. I don;t have spell check so there might be some spelling mistakes or typos that I haven't noticed so I'm sorry about that. I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**Chapter 1**

**The War**

After Raimundo Pedrosa was appointed Shoku Warrior, his maturity improved but only slightly. He still pulled a lot of pranks on his friends and messed around a lot but he took his role a lot more seriously. He tried hard in his training and he actually started to get up at the crack of dawn without a single complaint; he knew his job as leader was important. Especially with so much evil all around them.

To Omi's annoyance, Raimundo became stronger. He won most of the Showdowns he took part in and he was almost always victorious in training challenges, defeating the other three on a regular basis. Omi had come to accept that Raimundo was the chosen one, but it didn't mean he was happy about it and he usually scowled whenever Master Fung or any of the elders spoke highly of Raimundo or when he had to follow Raimundo's orders.

And then evil rose once again and the war came. The war that put World War One and Two to shame. All countries fought against each other, none of them trusting each other, all of them believing each other to be fighting for the forces of evil. It was a stupid war. Neverless, Raimundo was called upon to fight. And he answered that call with honour, despite his friends' pleads. They feared for his life. But he carried out his duty. Raimundo fought six terrible battles in four different countries, the sixth so very close to the Xiaolin Temple itself that you could hear the sounds of men's agonised screams so clearly from the Temple grounds, but none of the remaining monks were allowed near it. They weren't strong enough yet.

That was three years ago. That battle near the Xiaolin Temple was the last one Raimundo fought, and he was never seen nor heard of since. But the battle raged on.

**Wll, I hope you liked it and it made you want to read on. Please remember to review so I know whether it's worth finishing this story. Thank you!**


	2. In the Flesh

**This chapter took **_**ages**_**! So I hope you like it. You might find the beginning a little boring depending on what you like but it might be important later on so read it anyways. It gets more interesting further down, I promise. Also, I got a D in geography so if I've got anything wrong, it means the internet had lied to me. Again, I'm sorry about typos and spelling mistakes. I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 2**

**In the Flesh**

Two years ago, one year after Raimundo was appointed Shoku Warrior, Wuya came to power once again. After denying her so many times, Jack Spicer foolishly agreed to it after she had promised not to ditch him (or hurt him). So she regained her physical form and all of her powers. She didn't exactly ditch Jack so much as...enslave him. If he disagreed with her, he paid the price. If he did something wrong, he paid the price; Jack spicer had suffered a lot over the past two years.

But Wuya's rise to power awoke a new evil; The Dark Queen. No one had ever seen her and no one knew her real name but she was there and the whole world knew it. She had thousands, perhaps millions, of supporters and servants scattered worldwide who were either more than willing or forced to do her bidding and a lot of destruction had been brought about. The Dark Queen wanted to rule the world. So she needed to defeat Wuya. The war began simpley with The Dark Queens minions fighting Wuya's rock creatures and her own army, most of which had been possessed or blackmailed into fighting for her. Then every other member of the Heylin side- Chase Young, Hannibal Bean, Katnappe, Tubbymura- had to fight to keep their places on their own side and to keep their own lives. And then the world went into a panic, not knowing who could be trusted and who couldn't. The countries began to fight amongst themselves. Raimundo, being the Shoku Warrior, and the elders of the Xiaolin Temple- with the exception of Master Fung, who had to stay behind and continue training the three reminaing warriors- were called to battle to defeat Wuya and The dark Queen and put an end to what some people called World War Three.

In just two years there had been nine major battles. The very first took place in Beijing. It lasted three months, from 5th March 2006 until 14th June 2006, before The Dark Queen's army pulled out to fight a larger population of Wuya's rock creatures in Morioka, Japan. Beijing was left in ruins and the death count was 5,000,000. One of that 5,000,000 was one of the elders of the Xiaolin Temple. They were lucky to have lost just him.

The second battle, the one in Morioka, lasted four months, beginning on 27th June 2006 and ending 3rd October 2006. The death count was a less disasterous 2,000,000 and none were from the Xiaolin Temple, although hundreds of them had been fighting for the side of good. Raimundo returned to the Temple just before the end of that battle on 29th September. He had been lucky so far and only sustained minor injuries, but he was weak. He rested for a three weeks (and was relieved to be able to celebrate his nineteenth birthday on 13th October at the Temple) but that was all the time he had until he was sent off to fight in the third battle in North Africa on 20th October 2006. The third battle lasted only two months but it stretched all the way from Algeria, across Libya and into Egypt. After those two months all of Africa fell to the forces of The Dark Queen on 25th December 2006, Christmas day. As many people as possible fleed or were rescued but after that, anyone trying to get in or out of the country was murdered on the spot. Everyone from the Xiaolin Temple fled in time but it was a narrow escape and it was days before they all found each other again. Eighty men were from the side of good were taken prisoner and fifty men from Wuya's army were tortured and died slowly, but none of them had been fighting willingly for Wuya. The Dark Queen had captured her first country.

The fourth and fifth battle raged at the same time, the fourth, starting just before the fifth, on 2nd January 2007 in North America, stretching across Arizona all the way to Georgia. It was fought by Wuya's forces, The Dark Queen's forces, Chase Young's army (his jungle cats, returned to human form) the Xiaolin army, the American army, the British army and the Chinese army. It lasted two months, three weeks longer than the fifth battle, which took place in Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. It was fought by more of The Dark Queen's and Wuya's forces and the South American army, the German army and the Japanese army. There was no one fighting directly for the Xiaolin side in the Battle of South America. Wuya was victorious and both the North and South of America was sealed off, like Africa. North America fell on 13th March and South America fell on 19th February 2007. Two Xiaolin elders were taken prisoner. Raimundo fought and rescued one of them but it was all he managed and the two of them fleed America as stowaways on a cargo ship heading to Britain. They had lost the ten remaining elders, unsure whether they were dead or alive.

From Britain, Raimundo and the elder, Chang, boarded a ferry that took them to France. They hid there for two days. From France they sneaked aboard an aeroplane that was headed for China. They reached China only to discover that the airport was being run by Wuya's forces. They were checking who was coming in and out of the country. They had to fight and Chang was killed. Raimundo was captured and taken to Wuya's palace where she was delighted to see him. Raimundo spent a week in a cell in the palace and then slipped from her clutches and made it back to the Xiaolin Temple. By then it was 30th March 2007. It had been a whole year since the war began.

Over the next two weeks, seven of the ten remaining elders found their way back to the Xiaolin Temple and they mourned for those they knew were dead and prayed for those who could still be alive, perhaps taken prisoner. Raimundo and the elders were blessed with a whole month at the Temple, learning about minor battles raging between coutries such as Poland, Germany, Italy, Austria and Hungary and Australia, India and Iran. There was silence from North and South America and Raimundo couldn't sleep at night due to the constant fears that his family could be dead.

Then the sixth battle began in Zhengzhou, so close to the Xiaolin Temple that the floors shook whenever there was a loud explosion. Raimundo and the seven remaining elders were called away again it was the last time Kimiko, Clay, Omi, Master Fung and Dojo ever saw Raimundo Pedrosa.

The battle in Zhengzhou went on for four months, beginning on 2nd May 2007 and ending 11th August 2007. It was the first victory for the Xiaolin forces and China remianed a free country but three of the seven elders were killed and, of course, Raimundo vanished. It was a relief when the battle ended. In the Xiaolin Temple, the monks lived on fear of being caught in the middle of it but their frets were unnecessary.

Three days before the battle in Zhengzhou ended, the seventh battle began in Italy, Austria and Hungary. It was fought by the armies of those three countries, part of The Dark Queen's forces, part of Wuya's forces and part of Chase Young's forces. It moved from Italy, Austria and Hungary to Switzerland, Germany and France where the armies of those three countries joined the battle to defend their land. The seventh battle lasted four months and then it joined with the eighth battle on 6th December 2007.

The eighth battle began on 18th October 2007 in Poland and the north of Germany. It joined with the seventh battle and the seven armies fought amongst themselves until Wuya blocked all seven countries off from the rest of the world and claimed them as her own. Nothing could get in or out. That was on 23rd February 2008.

In her rage at losing seven whole countries in one go, The Dark Queen's forces were divided and sent to seal off Canada, Russia and Australia. Canada and Australia were captured almost immediately but Russia fought well and were accompanied by the Xiaolin forces. Wuya's forces and Chase's forces joined, each fighting to seize the country for themselves. That was the ninth and final major battle and it began on 24th February 2008 and ended on 16th April 2008. The Dark Queen was victorious.

Just three elders made it back to the Xiaolin Temple on 29th April 2008 and one of them died a day later due his injuries. The two remaining elders were bombarded with questions about Raimundo by the three Xiaolin monks but neither of them knew anything.

**.:.:.:.**

The tenth battle began in Britain on 31st May and still went on as the three remaining Xiaolin Dragons trained in the Xiaolin Temple training grounds.

"Star Hinarbi, fire!" Kimiko screamed. She threw the star shaped Shen Gong Wu like a frisbee and it circled the dummy several times, binding it in fires ropes before whizzing back to her hand. The burning bonds closed around the dummy and it caught fire.

"Third Arm Sash, earth!" Clay called. The blue sash around his waist came to life and then transformed into a fist made entirely of solid stone. It reached out and swept the dummy from harms way (Dojo, who was cowaring away from the heat but had been ordered by Master Fung to remained where he was and trust that the monks would not allow him to get hurt). The flaming dummy landed several feet away from Dojo, who sighed with relief.

"Orb of Tornami, water!" Omi yelled, holding out a small blue orb. It opened up and waves of sparkling water emerged from it, arcing over Kimiko's head and splashing down around the smouldering dummy, dousing the flames. There were several moments where all three monks waited for the call of, "Sword of the Storm, wind!" before their hearts sank as they remembered that Raimundo was gone.

"Well done, young ones," Master Fung said, nodding slightly, pleased. "You have worked well, you may have a break. We will resume training in an hour. I will lock the Shen Gong Wu away until then." He collected up the Shen Gong Wu and carried them off to the vault. Extra security had been placed around the Shen Gong Wu vault since the start of the war and there been several attempted break ins over the past two years, but none had yet succeeded.

Dojo slithered off after Master Fung like a loyal dog as the three Xiaolin monks sat down on the Temple grounds' lawns. It was still slightly damp after the rain showers the day before but none of them neither noticed nor cared.

"How long do you reckon it'll be before we're allowed to go to war?" Clay asked, knocking hat hat back slightly on his head.

"Surely it cannot be long now. I have been training for many years," Omi said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"It's not like we're not old enough. You've got to be eighteen or over to go to war haven't you? Legally. I'm twenty-one in July and I'm the youngest," Kimiko said. She placed her arms on the grass behind her and leaned back. She narrowed her eyes against the glaring Sun and looked up at the clouds.

"Maybe if we go to war we might be able to find Raimundo," Kimiko said thoughtfully, more to herself than her two friends. Omi and Clay looked at each other sadly. Raimundo wasn't mentioned very often anymore. Omi and Clat had already decided that Raimundo was probably dead, but Kimiko had not voiced her opinion. This gave them reason to believe she thought he was still alive, although he could not possibly be. They'd have heard something by now. Even the slightest little thing, but they had heard nothing. Clay thought Kimiko may know deep down that Raimundo was dead, but she was refusing to believe it.

The Temple had been very quiet over the past two years, with just Kimiko, Clay, Omi, Dojo and Master Fung in it and every activating Shen Gong Wu had been a cause to pray for thir lives. If they were lucky, the Shen Gong Wu would be far away from any battlefields and no one from the Heylin side would come to collect it, but they were never that lucky. The Shen Gong Wu had not yet been in a battlefield but several times Wuya had shown up with Jack to try and get it. The three remaining monks' only contribution to the war was to make sure Wuya didn't get her hands on more Wu. So far they had done well; they had won more Shen Gong Wu than they had lost but mostly it was just because the Showdown's had been with Jack Spicer, or because only Jack had shown up. But there had been several occasions where Wuya had come and the Showdown had been with her. Of all those occasions, they had only won once. She was too strong. It was those times when they understood why they were not allowed to go to war yet.

"The battle in Britain has been going on for just over a month now," Clay said. "And we're losing to Wuya and the Dark Queen."

"Who do you think the Dark Queen is?" Kimiko asked curiously. She lay back on the grass and put her hands behind her head. The June sunlight fell on her pale skin, warming it, and she closed her eyes.

"I don't know. All anyone knows is she wants to rule the world and no one has ever seen her," Clay replied.

"The people fighting for her must have seen her," Omi said, looking at Clay. Clay shrugged doubtfully.

"Rumors would have gotten around if just one person had seen her. I haven't heard a single one," Kimiko said. Omi sighed.

"Do you reckon she's a witch like Wuya, or is she just a normal human?" Clay said.

"If she was a normal human she'd have relatives and friens, so people would have seen her. I think she's a witch like Wuya and she's been hiding or sleeping or whatever for years and years and years until the war started," Kimiko said.

"Why only when the war started?" Omi asked, now looked at Kimiko with a puzzled expression that she could not see through her closed eyelid.

"No idea Omi. Haven't got a clue. It's just a guess," Kimiko said softly.

"You know as much as we do, li'l partner," Clay said. He lay back beside Kimiko and placed his ten-gallon hat over his face to block out the Sun. "The Sun sure feels good." Kimiko mumbled her agreement, but her mind was elsewhere. Her mind was on the sixth battlefield, the battlefield in Zhengzhou.

_"What happened to you, Rai?"_ Kimiko thought sadly. She could almost hear his voice in her head but before she could focus on it, it was gone. It had been like that for months now. Kimiko was scared that eventually she would forget him altogether. She couldn't allow that to happen.

**I hope you liked it. I don't know how quick updates will be since I have to focus on college now but I will update as quick as I can. Please review, I worked hard on this chapter, I deserve it :)**


	3. A Hollow Christmas

**Well, here's chapter three. Again, I'm sorry for spelling mistakes and typos I haven't noticed. I'd also like to thank**_** -toon **_**for pointing out that in chapter two I should have put "continent" for Africa instead of "country", so thank you. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 3**

**A Hollow Christmas**

Another six months passed and snow began to fall around the Xiaolin Temple but the Christmas spirit had yet to make an appearence. The battle in Britain had ended in September when the Xiaolin forces and the British army drove Wuya and The drak Queen out of the country. Britain was still a free country. For now anyway.

Kimiko sat on a wicker chair on the Temple's small porch and looked out into the white distance. She was all ready to go to bed, dressed in her pajamas, her silky black hair loose around her shoulder. To the North-East of where she was sitting was the city of Zhengzhou and that city was nothing but wasteland now. _How long had it been now? _she thought to herself. _Too long._

It was Christmas eve. She had received her Christmas presents off her father three days ago so she knew he was alright. The presents were in her tinny room, still wrapped. She had opened the card.

_My darling Kimiko_ it read.

_I hope this card finds you well and I hope you are working hard. Merry Christmas and happy new year. I wish I could say that in person but we can't have everything can we? I hope you like your presents and you get what you wanted._

_All my love,_

_Daddy_

_xxx_

_P.S. I'm sorry about your friend. I still haven't heard anything about him_

Since Toshiro Tohomiko had a lot of connections, Kimiko had asked him to keep an eye out for even the slightest hint as to what happened to Raimundo. He had heard nothing. Not even a whisper.

The sky was just as white as the Earth and it began to sprinkle delicate snowflakes onto the already blanketed ground. Kimiko shivered. She pet her feet on the chair and wrapped her arms her knees. It would be getting dark soon and she would go to bed and rise early on a Christmas morning that would feel the same as every other morning of the past three years; cold, empty and far too quiet. She would have to walk past Raimundo's empty cubicle and see how it was gathering dust and feel that familiar erge to pull the curtain shut but knowing that is she did it would be like confirming that he really was gone. She couldn't bring herself to do that. Then she would enter the kitchen and take her place at the table for breakfast and look at the empty chair that Raimundo should be sat in, probably poking fun at Omi or Clay. He had been so annoying but he was always good at cheering people up because he himself was never upset about anything. He always seemed to be in high spirits and he spread that feeling around the Temple and where ever else he went. Now he was gone, the Temple seemed gloomy.

"Kimiko," a calm voice said from the doorway. Kimiko turned her head to face the sound of that voice and saw Master Fung. "You should come inside. It's cold."

"I will in a minute Master Fung," Kimiko said respectfully. Master Fung bowed his head slightly then retreated back into the Temple. Kimiko rested her forehead on her knees and closed her eyes. Her loose hair brushed against her thighs.

_"This is all Spicer's fault,"_ she thought bitterly. _"He should kave known he couldn't trust Wuya enough to give her a body."_

_"Ah, yes, but isn't Spicer already paying for his mistake?" _another voice in her head replied. And it was true. The last time she had seen Jack he had looked ill. He looked, if possible, even paler than ever and he had definitely lost a lot of weight. His clothes were shabby and he seemed less eager to gloat after his very few victories. He still _did_ gloat if only to make it look like he was fine, but Kimiko knew better. She had seen the way Wuya treated him. So, was it fair to blame Jack?

"He still gave Wuya a body, so_ yes_, it _is_ his fault," Kimiko whispered to her frozen knees. She raised her head and opened her eyes and was stunned to see that it had gotten much darker. She must have been sat with her head on her knees for a lot longer then she realised. She placed her slippered feet onto the porch and got gracefully to her feet. She took one last lookl at the darkening winter evening then stepped into the Temple where the temperature was warm but the atmosphere was cold.

**.:.:.:.**

Omi awoke on Christmas morning in the same way he awoke every morning; he overbalanced and crashed to the floor. It took him several seconds to remember where he was and what had happed over the past few years before he caught sight of a small pile of parcels piled up in the corner of his little bedroom and forgot about the war all over again. He squealed with delight and scurried over to his presents. They all had tags on then so he knew who they were off. There was one off Master Fung, one off Dojo, one off Clay, two off Kimiko and one sent from Kimiko's father who had obviously taken a liking to his daughters new friends. He ripped the paper off the present off Dojo and discovered a box of chocolates, still with the cellophane wrapped still on them which meant Dojo hadn't eaten them this time.

After all of his present were opened, the smell of bacon and eggs reached Omi's nostrils and he made his way to the kitchen. Kimiko was cooking the breakfast by herself today. She looked tired, as if she hadn't slept much last night and not even the Christmas spirits were lifting her mood.

"Good Christmas, Kimiko," Omi said cheerfully as he got plates out of the cupboard.

"Merry Christmas, Omi," Kimiko said. She smiled but didn't bother to correct him. That should have been Raimundo's job.

_"Omi, you've gotta be doing that on purpose,"_ Raimundo's voice said in her head and it was clear as day. Kimiko smiled. She knew she could never forget him.

"How many eggs do you want, Omi?" Kimiko asked, still smiling. Omi beamed when he saw the expression on her face.

Fifteen minutes later, all three warriors were sat around the kitchen table eating their breakfast after wishing each other a merry Christmas and thanking each other for the presents. The thoughts, _"Two whole years since all of Africa fell to the Dark Queen,"_ kept reoccuring in all of their minds but they pushed it away.

"Merry Christmas, young monks," Master Fung said as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas Master Fung," all three of them replied arounf mouthfulls of bacon and eggs.

"Training in one hour," Master Fung informed them and left the kitchen.

"Remember when he used to give us the day off on Christmas?" Clay sighed.

"Yes, but under the current circumstances, we cannot afford days off," Omi said. He placed his fork down on his clear plate and sat back in his chair.

Despite her slightly improved mood, Kimiko hadn't managed to eat much and she put her fork down too. Clay looked at her remaining egg and three strips of bacon slyly and Kimiko pushed the plate towards him. He smiled gratefully and shovelled it down in four mouthfulls. Kimiko looked away, feeling sick.

After breakfast, the three warriors went back to their bedrooms to get changed, ready for training.

**.:.:.:.**

Snow or no snow, the training took place in the Temple grounds.

"When we have to fight real battles, we will have to do it regardless of weather," Omi had said wisely when Kimiko complained she was too cold. Master Fung returned from the Temple vault. The warriors themselves weren't allowed in it anymore in case something happened, or in case they were imposters, like the Chameleonbot. He gave Omi the Golden Tiger Claws, Clay the Eye of Dashi and Kimiko the Tangle Web Comb. He had remembered this time that only three Shen Gong Wu were needed. The last few times they had practised with complimentory Shen Gong Wu, he had brought out the Sword of the Storm and then remembered there was no one there to use it. The only person that ever used the Sword of the Storm was Raimundo and so it and the Blade of the Nebula were gathering dust just like his bedroom and his chair at the kitchen table.

Master Fung set Clay against Kimiko.

"Tangle Web Comb!" Kimiko called clearly. She focused her mind completely on the Comb and it's teeth extended and became thick, haairy ropes. they detatched themselves from the Comb and sped towards Clay. Clay stood his ground and watched them approach. At the last second he raised his arm and held out his own Shen Gong Wu.

"Eye of Dashi!" Clay said. Lightning burt from the Shen Gong Wu and hit the ropes . They spun around in the air upin impact and headed back for Kimiko. She lat out a tiny gasp and then focused her mind again.

"Wudai Mars, fire!" Kimiko called. She spun around in a circle, arms outstretched and fire exploded from the plams of her hands. It formed a sphere, with her in the middle and the hairy bonds ejected from the Comb went through the fire and fell to the ground, burning. Kimiko stopped spinning and fire vanished. the ropes that had been on fire simpley whizzed back into the Tangle Web Comb without harming anyone.

"Well done, Kimiko," Master Fung said pleased. "Very quick thinking and very effective. Clay, you go against Omi now."

Kimiko stepped out of the way and Omi took her place. This time, Clay went first.

"Eye of Dashi!" Clay said.

"Golden Tiger Claws!" Omi called. He slashed open a vortex in mid air and jumped through. It closed up behind lightning struck the ground where Omi had been moments before and melted the snow in that area. Omi ripped open a second hole in thin air behind Clay and jumped out of it.

"Wudai Neptune, ice!" Omi called. Instead of water, all the snow around Omi rose up in balls and hurled themselves at Clay. Several of them hit him in the chest and one hit him in the leg, nearly knocking him over.

"Wudai Crater, earth!" Clay growled. The ground shook and a boulder dislodged itself from the frozen ground beneath the snow and rose into the air in front of Clay. The remaining snowballs hit off the boulder and fell to the ground, useless. when they were all gone, the boulder dropped back to Earth and refilled the hole it had come out of. MAster Fung said nothing but he bowed his head to Clay and Omi to show his approval. Dojo, who was curled around Master Fung's shoulders, gave them each a thumbs up.

"Now Kimiko and Omi," Master Fung ordered. Kimiko took up a stance in front of Omi.

"Golden Tiger Claws!" Omi said. He ripped open a hole in the air and inside he could see the swirling grey vortex.

"Tangle Web Comb!" Kimiko screamed. The hairy bonds wrapped themselves tightly around Omi's ankle and pulled him back before he jumped through the vortex. It closed up in front of him and he yelled as he fell to the frozen, snow covered ground.

"Golden Tiger Claws!" Omi said. He slashed open a slightly smaller hole and stuck his hand threw. It opened up just behind Kimiko's knees and he tripped her up. She gave out a startled yell and fell. Her concentration broke and the Tangle Web Comb released Omi and instead wrapped intself firmly around Kimiko. She was so used to being in that situation that she didn't struggle at all. She closeed her eyes and lay perfectly still and tried to tihkn of nothing. The pressure on her ribs loosened as the ropes unravelled and went back into the Comb. She sat up, dripping went with melted snow.

"Nice one Omi," Kimiko said, smiling slightly.

"Thank you Kimiko," Omi said politely and thought, _"I learned that from Raimundo."_ But he didn't dare say it outloud.

_"Rai did that in the Showdown with Spicer for the Reversing Mirror. Just before he went Heylin,"_ Kimiko thought, but she didn't dare say it outloud.

**.:.:.:.**

After two hours of training, Master Fung let the monks rest. Kimiko sat down in the wicker chair on the porch. Clay plopped down in the chair next to her and Omi sat on the floor, ignoring the thin layer of ice on it.

"Anyone in the mood to cook Christmas dinner?" Kimiko asked. Neither or the boys replied. "Me either," Kimiko sighed. "There's a Christmas pudding if anyone wants it later though."

"Well, there's still plenty of time to think about it," Clay said. Kimiko nodded. The Sun had only just fully risen in the snowy white sky.

"Sure is quite without Rai," Clay said after several minutes of silence. Omi and Kimiko looked at him, slightly startled at the mention of Raimundo. Clay looked back at them sadly and then a small smile flitted across his lips.

"Remember when he hat you fill my hat with milk to see if it would hold ten gallons?" Clay asked.

"Oh yes!" Omi said. "Did you ever get that free hat."

"Raimundo lied to you Omi, he was winding you up. He just wanted to see if you would actually put milk in my hat," Clay replied.

"Oh, I am most sorry," Omi said sadly.

"It's a couple of years late but it's fine Omi," Clay smiled.

"I remember when he put a virus on my PDA to annoy me but it actually helped me," Kimiko said. "It helped me escape from Jack's basement that time he replaced me with his stupid robot." There was more silence for a few minutes.

"Raimundo deserved to be made Shoku warrior," Omi said. Kimiko and Clay looked at Omi, stunned.

"He messed up a lot and he did not take training seriously but in actual Showdowns, in times when it really important, he worked the hardest. Like When he lost the Sword of the Storm to Tubbymura and he studied so hard to make up for it and learned about the Shen Yi Bu Dares and won back the Sword of the Storm, the Two Ton Tunic, the Fist of Tebigong, the Eye of Dashi _and_ the Shroud of Shadows," Omi said.

"Yeah, and he combined the Eyes of Dashi with the Sword of the Storm," Clay said admirably. Omi nodded.

"He was the one who knew not to trust Spicer and rescued us when we all got caught by Pandabubba," Kimiko said. "And that four-way tag-team Showdown he challenged Hannibal Bean to, where we had to rescue Dojo; the _damsel in distress_." Kimiko giggled. "He got _really_ hurt in the Showodwn but he still fought harder than any of us."

"Man, Rai sure did a lot for us now I come to think about it," Clay said. He swept his hat from his head and ran his fingers through his short blonde hair.

"I don't think any of us would have lasted a second on one of those battlefields," Kimiko said. "Raimundo managed six battles."

"I sort of feel a little guilty for treating Raimundo like he was useless, although he _was_ the one who turned to the dark side and nearly killed us all," Omi said.

"But he realised what he was doing and saved us all too," Kimiko said. She looked down at her feet and said quietly, "We need him back." In her head, she though, _"I need him back."_ She rested her feet on the chair in front of her and wrapped her arms around her knees. She looked out into the white sky as she had done the night before, and shivered. Clay placed his hat back on his head. Omi fidgeted silently with the black cuffs of his tunic. They sat in silence, each remembering different things about Raimundo and how badly the missed him, until Master Fung returned and they began training once again.

**I hope you liked it. Please remember to review and I'll update as soon as possible**


	4. Master Fung's Announcement

**This chapter is a bit shorter than the last two I think but I hope you like it. Thank you everyone who has reviewed so far, I really appreciate it.**

**Chapter 4**

**Master Fung's Announcement**

It was blistering cold and there was small, slow drifts of fresh snowflakes fluttering down from the sky. The three warriors were training on the obstacle course in the Temple grounds, blindfolded.

Omi could hear his feet padding softly through the snow beneath him as he ran forward. His senses told him he was in the tunnel and his ears picked up the tiny sound of a arrow whizzing towards him. He jumped in the air and flipped over it, landing neatly on his feet. He did a forwards roll to avoid an arrow he sensed just above his head and then he saw a dim light through the black blindfold and knew he was out of the tunnel.

Kimiko flipped through the three metal hoops held up on poles. She made it through each of them cleanly and landed on the other side with her arms held out for balance. She could hear the punchbags swinging back and forth before her. The sand bags of death, Raimundo had once called them, after one smashed into him head on and sent him reeling and disorientated straight into the next one that knocked him backwards into the first one where he finally fell to the ground. Kimiko grinned to herself at this memory. She took a brave step forward and felt the first bag rush by, inches from the end of her nose. She sped past, dodged the second bag, side-stepped to avoid the third and simply walked straight past the fourth, sensing that it was safe to do so.

_"Up yours Rai, my tiger instincts are almost as good as Omi's. They're certainly better than yours,"_ Kimiko thought and giggled to herself, unaware of the eyebrow Dojo cocked at her for it. For a moment she forgot what pasrt of the course came next and panicked slightly but then she remembered Raimundo's dizzy fall in the shallow pond after he stumbled away from "the sand bags of death". It was the crocodiles. She placed one foot carefully on a rock next to the pond and leaped onto one of the crocodile's jaws. She was quick and hopped onto the next one just before the first ones teeth clamped shut. It suddenly occured to her that every time she had gotten upset or worried or confused, she had thought of Raimundo and everything was...well, better. She was so distracted by that thought that she forgot to move and she lingered to long on the same crocodile. It's jaws slammed foot and it's dull, metal teeth rammed themselves into her skin drawing a thin trickle of blood. She yelled out in surprise and pain and tumbled into the water.

"Didn't help that time, did you Rai?" she muttered as she picked herself up, her clothes dripped. She lifted the blindfold from her blue eyes and was momentarily blinded by the brightness of the Sun and the snow. Then her eyes adjusted and she climbed back onto dry land. She made her way to the finish line where Omi and Clay had already finished.

"You alright li'l lady?" Clay inquired. She nodded. The bleeding had already stopped. There was a slight flair of pain every time she put her weight on her right ankle but that was all and it was already receeding. She smiled. Clay returned it with a broad grin and she knew he was thinking of the time Raimundo had fallen in like a drunk stumbling home from the pub. And the similie itself brought back funny memories, of course, no one could mention them around Master Fung. They hadn't drank a lot because they weren't really allowed to, but they'd done it several times (Kimiko, Raimundo and Clay had anyway, Omi had refused but promised not to tell).

"I have an announcement to make, young monks," Master Fung said.

"Sounds like end of the world time," Kimiko said before she could stop herself. She felt her cheeks flush and four pairs of eyes fell on her.

"Sorry Master Fung," Kimiko said. "I can't get Raimundo's damn voice out of my head!"

"It it that I wish to speak to you about," Master Fung said and Kimiko's heart skipped a few beats. Questions raced through her mind like bullets. Had someone seen him? Was he alive? Was he hurt? Was he coming back? Had he been captured by Wuya or the Dark Queen?

"Raimundo has been missing for over two years now," Master Fung said and Kimiko suddenly knew what he was about to tell them. Her heart raced and she began to feel anger boiling away inside her, waiting to erupt.

"So it is time to find a replacement," Master Fung finished, confirming Kimiko's fears. Clay gasped in horror but Omi just looked at Master Fung with a sort of dismal acceptance.

"Raimundo was a strong, talented and very valuable asset to our team and he will most certainly not be forgotten, but it is time to move on," Master Fung said. There was a hint of sadness behind his evercalm voice and his eyes were on Kimiko when he spoke. Kimiko just gaped at him with a mixture of anger, disappointment and disgust.

"He's alive," she spat at Master Fung.

"Kimiko!" Omi said sharply. Master Fung raised his hand to silence Omi but his clear blue eyes never left Kimiko's.

"I am afraid nobody knows what happened to Raimundo. No one had seen nor heard from him in over two years. If he was live we would know by now," Master Fung said.

"He is alive, I know he is!" Kimiko yelled. Her hands were balled into fists and her nails were digging into her palms but she hardly noticed. "No one's seen the Dark Queen either, but we all know she's there! Why is this any different?"

"Kimiko-" Master Fung began but Kimiko cut across him.

"Raimundo's not fucking stupid!" Kimiko snapped, all discipline forgotten as she glared furiously at Master Fung. The part of her rationally thinking mind that was still finctioning at the moment screamed at her to remember to at least keep her hands to herself.

"He might have been taken prisoner! Or he might have gone to Brazil to check on his family and got stuck there! No one's heard _anyhting_ from South America for years!" Kimiko said. Master Fung opened his mouth to say something and Kimiko cut him off again.

"Raimundo is still alive and I'm going to fucking find him! Just you fucking watch me!" and she stormed off. Omi stood with his hands pressed firmly agaist his lips, his black eyes wide with horror. Clay just watched Kimiko go. He knew she'd calm down eventually and apologise to Master Fung for her outburst (and her language) and he knew Master Fung would forgive her and say he understood. He also knew Kimikos anger would mean nothing; there would be a replacement Dragon of the Wind whether she liked it or not.

**.:.:.:.**

Kimiko stomped through the hallways inside the Temple, reliving her childhood as she screamed like a spoilt child who had been denied and swept things off tables and walls. She reached the four cubicle bedrooms but instead of going into her own, she went into Raimundo's and simpley collapsed onto the cold, unused mattress. A puff of dust rose up when she fell upon it. Tears began to stream down her rosey cheeks and shy put her face into the pillow and let them fall.

She cried for fifteen minutes then the flow began to taper off to sniffling. She wiped her swollen eyes with her sleeve and looed around the room. Raimundo's surfboard was leaning in the corner beside a scateboard and a football. On the bedside table was a lamp and two dusty, framed photographs, one of all four of them, laughing and messing around. That had been taken on the first year they had come to the Temple. They all looked sso young. The second photograph was of Raimundo and his large family. Kimiko counted six brothers and sisters, not including Raimundo. They were all smiling and waving at the camera. His mother, Yarah Raimundo had said she was called, held a small child in her arms. Kimiko couldn't remember the name of the baby. She couldn't remember many of their names at all and she cursed herself for not paying more attention to Raimundo while she had the chance. Her eyes fell of Raimundo's father and her lips spread in a sad smile. Raimundo was almost the double of his father. Brown hair, tanned skin, even the same shaped nose and lips and dark green eyes that seemed to twinkle with a mixture or kindness, warmth and mischief.

Kimiko ran her slender fingers over the family photographs, leaving tracks through the thibk dust. They stopped just below the photograph Raimundo. He looked to be only thirteen of fourteen years old but he didn't look any different from the last time she saw him. He was wearing a Brazil tee-shirt and his foot was planted firmly on the top of a football. He grinned up at her and she almost wished he wasn't smiling. The smile made her miss him more. For one brief moment, she wanted to throw the picture as hard as she could against the wall and shatter the protective glass. The crushed the urge and quickly placed the picture back on the bedside table. That was when she caught sight of a tiny, fluffly brown leg sticking out from under the blanket that had been left in a heap from the very last time Raimundo had gotten out of this bed. She reached out, paused, the pulled the covers back to reveal Raimundo's _good luck charm_, Ninja Fred. Tears welled up in her eyes again but she forced them back and carefully picked the bear up. It was thick with dust but soft. She hugged it to her chest and closed her eyes.

_"I'll find you Raimundo,"_ she thought. _"I promise you that."_

**Well, I hope you liked it. I'll update as soon as I can. Please remember to review!**


	5. Wind's Replacement

**Sorry for the wait and the fact that it's another short chapter. I'm doing my best though. I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 5**

**Wind's Replacement**

A week went by after Master Fung's announcement and Kimiko's temper was always bubbling just beneath the surface, waiting to erupt at the slightest thing; Clay chewing loudly, Omi's inability to understand sarcasm. The only thing that could have distracted her was an activating Shen Gong Wu, but there hadn't been any in a long time.

At last, the day of Raimundo's replacement arrived and Dojo had gone to pick him up from London. Master Fung had the htree monks gather in the Temple grounds and wait for Dojo's return. Kimiko did as she was told but she was far from happy about it.

"This new fella," Clay said to Master Fung. "Has he had any previous training or is he starting from the beginning?"

"He has had some martial arts training, but no elemental training, so he will have to begin at the beginning," Master Fung said, his crystal eyes fixed on the horizon.

"Oh! I cannot wait to reach him everything I know!" Omi squealed.

"Omi, didn't you learn anything from Rai?" Clay asked.

"Yeah, like the fact that despite all your cheap shots, Rai was better than you," Kimiko said casually, but under her amiable tone was contempt. Omi hung his head.

"I see him!" Clay said, pointing into the distance where a black dot was slithering its way through the winter sky. As it closer and the outline was more visible, Kimiko's heart dropped. She saw the outline of the figure on Dojo's back. She had know he was coming, of course, but she realised only ay that point that the reality of it hadn't really sank in. The reality of the past few years hadn't sank in, even after all the stressing and searching and crying she had done for Raimundo. But it sank in now and she felt it. She felt like she was falling from the top of a thirty storied skyscraper. Her vision greyed over and she swayed slightly on her feet. Then the feeling passed and her vision cleared, only to be obscured again by the tears welling in her eyes. No one had noticed anything. They too busy watching Dojo's approach. Kimiko swiped at her eyes angrilly and tried to keep the thought that was trying to enter her mind from doing so; _Raimundo's dead._

Dojo touched down lightly on the packed snow.

"You have reached your final destination. Please dismount the Dojo Express in a calm and orderly fashion and enjoy the rest of your day," Dojo said, grinning. The boy on his back grinned as well and hopped down from Dojo's back. He had blonde hair that fell almost to his shoulders, light green eyes and a silver ring in his lower lip. He wore baggy, tattered jeans that were tucked into into his green wellies (Dojo had obviously told him there was currently a lot of snow), a thick, red jacket that was zipped up to his chin and black gloves. In one hand he held a heavy looking suitcase and on his back was a black back-pack.

Dojo shrank and curled around Master Fung's shoulders.

"Young monks, this is Sampson Page," Master Fung said. "Sampson, this is Omi, Clay and Kimiko and I am Master Fung." Omi greated Sampson with a wide grin when his name was said, Clay raised a hand gave a friendly hello, Kimiko simpley scowled.

"May I take your bags Sampson?" Omi asked politely.

"It's alright, they're not that heavy," Sampson replied. He smiled and flashed Omi with brilliant white teeth. A thought struck Kimiko.

"Where's he sleeping?" Kimiko asked, not even daring to use Sampson's name. "There are only four bedrooms."

"There are only four bedrooms," Master Fung agreed. "But only three are currently in use." Kimiko's jaw dropped.

"You're giving him Raimundo's _room_ as well? You've already gave him Rai's fucking element! What else does he get? Raimundo's head on a fucking platter?" Kimiko raged. Master Fung opened his mouth but Sampson spoke first.

"Kimiko," he said. His voice was deep but gentle. "I know you miss Raimundo, and seeing as Raimundo was the Shoku Warrior, I'm nowhere near as good as him, which means I'm not really replacing him. I'm here to train and then help fight in this war and I won't ever replace him." Kimiko simpley glared at him, her blue eyes ablaze.

"Kimiko, you will clear out Raimundo's room," Master Fung instructed.

_"Why?"_ Kimiko yelled, her fists clenched. Master Fung said nothing, he simpley fixed Kimiko with one of his piercing glares. Kimiko turned on her heel and stormed into the Temple.

"I am most sorry for Kimiko's attitude," Omi said.

"Yeah, she's a sweet girl usually," Clay agreed. "She's just a having a hard time accepting that Rai's...probably dead."

"It's totally fine, I understand," Sampson said. "I didn't expect any of you to like me being here to be honest. It's only natural that you're going to miss Raimundo. You've known him for years. I bet he was like family."

"Yeah...I guess he was," Clay said, lifting his hat up so he could scratch his head. "I never thought of it like that before." Sampson smiled.

"Lets get inside out of the cold," Master Fung said. He turned to Sampson. "You may leave your bags in the entrance until Kimiko has cleared Raimundo's room. It may take her a while but I know she will do it eventually."

"Why are you making Kimiko do it Master?" Omi asked curiously.

"I think it may help her come to terms with our loss," Master Fung said.

_"It won't," _Clay thought sadly.

**.:.:.:.**

Clay was right. Kimiko had simply lay on the mattress in Raimundo's room and wept into the pillow for half an hour, one arm curled around Ninja Fred. When the river of tears lessened slightly, she sat up just enough to reach out and pull the covers over her, then she lay down in the cold, dusty bed. She had pulled the curtain across the doorway and the only like that shone in the room was the weak winter sunlight, that was already beginning to dim. She closed her eyes against it and hugged the bear tightly to her chest. After just five minutes, she had fallen asleep.

**.:.:.:.**

Meanwhile, Clay and Omi were sat on the polished floor of the meditating hall, getting to know their new fellow monk. It would be unfair to say neither of them missed Raimundo and wished he was still at the Temple, but they had, at least, accepted that he was gone and that they needed to move on.

"So, where about in england do you come from partner?" Clay asked.

"Essex," Sampson replied

"I have never heard of that place before," Omi said.

"It's near London," Sampson said. "I'm sure you've heard of London. It's nothing special really. It's nice to get away from there actually."

"Were you near the battle in Britain?" Omi inquired curiously.

"Pretty close, but still at a safe distance I guess," Sampson answered. "I kept thinking I was going to die everynight for the first few weeks to be honest. It was horrible. My little sister kept asking if she could sleep in my room."

"How old is she?" Clay said.

"Sixteen," Sampson replied. He put his arms behind him and leaned back on them, casually. "She's called Victoria. She's annoying as hell."

"You'll be grateful for what you've got if you ever meet my sister, Jessie," Clay said smiling, then his face fell. "If she's still alive. Her and my daddy are both still in Texas. I haven't heard from them in years."

"I'm sorry," Sampson said softly. Clay smiled gratefully.

"I'd go and check on them but...I don't think I'd ever get into anywhere in America. At least not alive," Clay said. "Raimundo had the same..." Clay trailed off. Omi fidgetted nervously. They had already mentioned Raimundo three times in the whole hour they had been speaking to Sampson.

"You must really miss him," Sampson said.

"Yeah. More'n anything to tell the truth. he was always pulling pranks and making fun of me and Omi but he was a nice guy really. You could really rely on him when it came down to it. Still I dont think any of us miss him as much as Kimiko does."

As if summoned by her name, Kimiko entered the meditating hall. She had slept for forty minutes and woke up with an idea. She had cleared out the room, but not the one Master Fung had requested.

"Kimiko, have you cleared out Raimundo's room?" Omi asked.

"No," Kimiko reolied. "I cleared out mine."

"Where are you going to sleep?" Omi asked, confused.

"Raimundo's room," Kimiko said shortly. Then she left the room. She hadn't looked at Sampson once. To her, he didn't exist. Sampson brushed blonde hair from his green eyes and sighed. He had known he might be a bit resented when he went to the Temple, he hadn't thought he'd be _hated._ He hadn't counted on one of the monks actually being in love with Raimundo, whether they knew it or not. He suspected Kimiko didn't. He was a good judge of character and he was good at studying people and their actions. He knew for a fact Kimiko wasn't entirely aware of her true feelings for the lost Brazilian boy, but she was well on her way to discovering them. And he knew everyone had better just watch out when she finally did.

**I hope you liked it. I'll update as soon as I can. Please review.**


	6. The Healing Hand of Dashi

**Finally finished writing it! Here it is, chapter six. The Healing Hand of Dashi isn't actually my creation, my friend **_**xToXiCxFaIrYxEnVy**_** made it up a few years ago, but I've changed its appearance slightly. She won't mind, I've known her for years haha. I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 6**

**The Healing Hand of Dashi**

Kimiko and Dojo soared through the Chinese skies. Kimiko was wrapped up in a thick, blue winter coat with a matching hat, gloves and scarf but her cheeks were still glowing red with the cold. They had been flying for an hour but Kimiko refused to give up.

"You really can't accept that he's dead, can you?" Dojo asked. He knew he sounded rude and he didn't mean too- he missed Raimundo too- but he was cold as well.

"No, he's not dead. I know it," Kimiko said stubbornly. "Take me to the Zhengzhou battlefield."

"Are you sure, kid?" Dojo asked uncertainly. "It aint pretty." Kimiko didn't reply so Dojo, sighing, turned west and headed for what remained of the sixth battlefield.

**.:.:.:.**

Kimiko dismounted Dojo, landing gracefully in the snow. In the summer, when the snow was gone, the cratered earth of the massive battlefield would be on display along with millions of human bones and discarded weapons. However, even with the snow, the area was a wasteland. All the buildings had demolished by the fighting (large bumps in the snow showed that the rubble still had not been cleared) and not a single living thing could be seen for miles. The whole city was dead.

Kimiko looked around feeling faint. She couldn't believe how much destruction there had been. Before the war, she and the other monks had visited the city several times. It had been a busy city, full of skyscrapers and people rushing past on their day to day business. Now it was empty. Everyone who had lived here had either fled or been killed. Even all the wildlife.

"This can't be...the whole city," Kimiko whispered, staring around with wide eyes.

"It is," Dojo said. His voice was also low. It was like being in a library; it felt wrong to speak loudly. "This was just a small battle. Just think of the battles that took place over whole continents."

"I don't want to," Kimiko said. Tears that had nothing to do with the bitter cold pricked her eyes. All this destruction. And it was for nothing really. The Dark Queen wanted to rule the world and so did Wuya. So many people had died trying to save it. Millions. And so many of them were innocent, defenceless people. Kimiko found herself thinking of the My Lai Massacre. Helpless children had been murdered. How many children had been killed here, where she was standing? How many all over the world? How many children had watched their parents die, not knowing what was happening, why everyone was screaming, before being killed themselves? How many.

Kimiko unconsciously brushed tears from her cheeks. She took several delicate steps forward, still gazing around with horrified awe. Even though it was right there before her, she could not believe what she was seeing.

"There's nothing here Kimiko," Dojo said softly. He was still stood where he had landed, still in his supersized form. Kimiko appeared not to have heard him. She took another few steps forward. The silence around her was torture. She looked to the skies and saw not a single bird. She looked around her feet, at the snow and saw no footprints but her own. Nothing had been here for a very long time. She began to wonder what she'd find if she dug through the snow to the frozen ground and pushed the thought away as her stomach turned uncomfortably. Without thinking about it, she swept her blue, woollen hat from her head and held it by her side, like an act of respect. Respect for the people who had been murdered mercilessly, who had simply been in the way. Respect for those who had fought to protect Zhengzhou from the dark forces. Respect for Raimundo. She took a step backwards. Then she turned to face Dojo.

"Why is this happening?" she asked. Tears were pouring freely down her pink cheeks and she was powerless against them. "This isn't fair! This _shouldn't_ be happening!"

"I know," was all Dojo found he could say. He had experience the same thoughts and feelings Kimiko had as he stood watching her look around in horror.

"The whole city, Dojo!" Kimiko sobbed, not bothering to keep her voice down now. She wanted the whole world to hear her. She wanted the whole world to realise what was happening was wrong and just stop. She wanted everything to just stop.

"So many people. And children and babies! They all got killed! Just because Wuya and the fucking Dark Queen both want their own way! This isn't _fair_!" She was unable to say any more as the tears came faster and harder than ever. Dojo held out one long, scaly arm and Kimiko let herself be wrapped into it. She wept onto the side of Dojo's head and he held her. They stood like that for ten minutes until Kimiko's tears began to run out. For now.

"Do you want to go back now?" Dojo asked gently. Kimiko nodded. She rubbed her swollen eyes and climbed onto Dojo's back. He took off into the sky and Kimiko was unable to take her eyes off that barren, desolate wasteland where the snow was only laid over the top to hide the shame of what had happened from the rest of the world, until it was out of her sight. Then she simply stared down at her gloved hands, one still clutching her wool hat, as she held onto Dojo's back.

They had gotten halfway back to the Temple when Dojo suddenly yelped in pain and surprise as his body began to shake uncontrollably. Kimiko squealed as she was tossed sideways. She dropped her hat and it fell all the way to the ground but she was able to secure a better grip on Dojo before she followed it down.

"New Shen Gong Wu alert!" Dojo said. "Sorry about the hat."

"I'll get a new one," Kimiko said. "Just gets us back to Temple as quick as you can."

**.:.:.:.**

In no time at all, the other three warriors were aboard Dojo and he took off yet again.

"Have you been crying Kimiko?" Sampson asked, noticing Kimiko's puffy eyes.

"_Great, he's _nice_ too,"_ Kimiko thought bitterly. She neither replied nor looked at Sampson. Sampson glanced at Clay and Clay shrugged. Omi was looking at the Ancient Scroll.

"What's the new Wu Omi?" Kimiko asked, looking over his shoulder.

"It is a most important Shen Gong Wu," Omi said. "It is the Healing Hand of Dashi. Whoever uses it has the power to instantly heal any wound or injury."

"That'll be good for fighting in the war," Sampson said.

"Depends which side gets it," Dojo said gravely.

"Besides, _you_ won't be fighting for a _very_ long time," Kimiko said under her breath, but loud enough for Sampson to hear.

"Kimiko, I'm really not here to replace your friend," Sampson said.

"My friend was called _Raimundo_," Kimiko snapped. "And no, of course not, you just came to use his element and sleep in his room and fight instead of him. Yeah you're right, that doesn't sound like a replacement to me."

"I'm not in his room," Sampson said. He could feel his temper beginning to rise but he didn't allow it to be released. He was good at keeping his cool. All his friends at home in Essex had known him for always being relaxed under any circumstances.

"Only because I made sure you weren't," Kimiko argued. Sampson remained silent after that. Omi sighed.

**.:.:.:.**

"Jack, if we lose this Shen Gong Wu because of you, you know what'll happen don't you?" Wuya said. Jack nodded, averting his red eyes away from Wuya's green eyes. He knew too well what would happen. Especially with a Shen Gong Wu this important. If he lost this one, he'd be lucky enough if he didn't lose his own life.

"Then go. Don't come back without it." The two propellers on long metal stalks extended from his helipack and began to spin so fact they were nothing but blurs. He lifted off the ground and headed off to where Wuya had told him the new Shen Gong Wu was, praying those stupid Xiaolin monks didn't get there first. They didn't understand how much he suffered when he lost. He didn't want the Wu to help him rule the world anymore; he wanted them to help him keep his life. They didn't understand.

Wuya kept him in a cell on most days, letting him out three times a day to use the bathroom and occasionally feeding him if she felt like it, which wasn't too often; he had lost a lot of weight. She gave him two small glasses of water a day, one in the morning and one at night, and he had to make them last as long as possible. Is she was in a particularly good mood, she would let him out and instead make sure he was locked in his basement. On those days he would go about his usual business, building his robots. He had thought for months if his mother didn't wonder where he was. He missed her so much! And then one day he'd gotten the courage to ask Wuya and wished he hadn't. The truth was, she actually _had_ wondered which was a shock in itself- usually she didn't care- and she had asked Wuya, not really knowing what Wuya was truly capable of. She had argued for her son's freedom and Wuya had gotten bored of it, so she killed her. Jack's mother was now dead.

When Jack lost Shen Gong Wu to the Xiaolin monks, Wuya beat him. Sometimes she beat him so much he passed out and woke up hours later, back in his cell. She used him as a stress relieving punch bag when she was losing a battle somewhere. She made him watch her murder innocent people and sometimes she made _him_ murder innocent people.

"You're more good than evil Jack," she would say when he resisted her and then she would beat him again. She would beat him until he realised that if he didn't kill whoever she'd told him to then she would probably kill him. He used to tell himself that she wouldn't kill him because she needed him to get Shen Gong Wu for her but he knew that wasn't true. He knew he was useless. She could find someone a lot better than him. If he didn't do what she wanted, he would die.

They didn't understand that his life was at stake.

**.:.:.:.**

They were lucky again as they landed in a wide, open field in the British countryside.

"Went all the way to China just to come all the way back again," Sampson sighed but there was a small smile on his face.

"Split up, we will cover more dirt," Omi ordered and wandered off.

"He'll never learn," Clay said.

They were searching for five minutes when the sounds of Jack's helibot approaching reached their ears.

"You're about to meet Jack Spicer, kid," Dojo said to Sampson. Sampson gazed off in the direction of the sound and sure enough, Jack was descending to Earth. He landed lightly and the propellers folded themselves back into his helipack. He looked around at the warriors and then his red eyes fell on Sampson.

"Who are you?" Jack asked.

"Sampson Page," Sampson replied. Jack suddenly grinned.

"Oh my god, you've actually _replaced _Raimundo?" Jack asked. He threw his head back and cackled. He laughed and laughed and laughed, disturbing birds in the nearby trees and causing them to fly off in groups.

"We haven't fucking replaced him!" Kimiko spat, her hands balled into fists. Jack stopped laughing. He glanced at Kimiko then looked back at Sampson.

"What's your element?"

"Wind," Sampson said.

"Sounds like a replacement to me," Jack shrugged.

"Well it's not. Anyway, he'll never be as good as Raimundo," Kimiko said indignantly, folding her arms across her chest. Sampson was looking around. His eyes fell on a silver hand shaped object lying half buried in the grass and he knew it was what they were looking for. He was only just beginning to think of a way to get to it without Jack realising he had found it when Jack saw it as well. Jack ran. Sampson ran. Omi, Clay, Kimiko and Dojo looked after them, startled- they hadn't seen it. Sampson seized the Shen Gong Wu at the same time as Jack. Now he could see that in the palm of the silver hand was a golden heart. It began to glow a bright yellow. Sampson had been told about Xiaolin Showdowns (it was one of the first things Master Fung taught him) so he knew what was coming next.

"Sampson, was it?" Jack asked. Sampson nodded his head once, not taking his eyes off Jack's. Lowering his eyes would show weakness and that wasn't the impression he wanted to make.

"Well then Sampson, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown. My Monkey Staff against your...what Wu have you got?" Jack asked. He wasn't looking forward to this showdown. He was hoping the new kid would be weak but he didn't seem it. Jack just wanted to get it over and done with. He'd either win or lose. He'd either live or die. And that was that.

Sampson pulled the Eye of Dashi out from his jacket pocket.

"Alright, my Monkey Staff against your Eye of Dashi. The game is a race," Jack said, thinking of the quickest, easiest showdown. "First to reach the Wu wins."

"Let's do it," Sampson grinned, promising himself he would win no matter what. He had been a very competitive sports player when he was in school and it usually got him into a lot of trouble, like when he pushed a boy named Billy McGee down in football in his attempt to get to the ball first. Billy had gone over on his ankle and snapped it. It was months before he could play football again, but Sampson had gotten into a lot of trouble for it and wasn't allowed to play either for quite a few weeks. His mother had been so angry at him. But not it was all going to pay off.

The grass around them sprouted and only stopped growing when it towered over their heads. There was a wide, twisting path that cut through it and was burdened with obstacles. The Healing Hand of Dashi hovered at the end of the path, still glowing. The other warriors were transported onto a thick tree branch nearby where they could look down on the showdown. Kimiko sat with her arms still folded, not knowing what to hope for; she wanted Sampson so lose so she could say that he was still nothing compared to Raimundo, but she also wanted him to win because they couldn't afford to lose this Shen Gong Wu. It would be _too_ useful to Wuya and they were already losing the war.

"Gong Yi Tempai!" Jack and Sampson shouted. Jack was off in an instant and Sampson was close behind. Jack was already transformed in his monkey-like state and was scampering along on all fours, his long tail streaming out behind him. Sampson hung the eye of Dashi around his neck where it was safe and forced his legs to go faster. He rounded a corner and came across the first obstacle; a large, fallen tree. Jack was already halfway over it; his monkey skills making it look easy. Sampson didn't slow down; he just kept running towards the tree. Then he pushed down with his left foot and leaped as high as he could. He caught hold of a branch a third of the way up and his right foot found a hold somewhere below it. He hauled himself up and within seconds he was at the top. He could see Jack speeding away ahead of him. He held the Eye of Dashi out and called its name. Bolts of lightning burst from it and hit a spot so close to Jack he felt the heat of it. Jack yelped and dived sideways to avoid it. He tripped over his monkey tail and cart wheeled into the giant grass where he lay in a heap, chest heaving, heart pounding. Sampson jumped down from the tree and landed heavily on the ground, his arms held out for balance like Omi had taught him. Then he was off again, running as fast as he could. He knew he was going to run out of breath soon so he had to make sure he got way ahead of Jack and then he could slow down a little.

Jack was picking himself up off the ground, rubbing his sore back. He stepped back onto the path and was immediately knocked back down as Sampson sped past him, blonde hair flying, and flung out an arm in his direction. Jack squealed as he landed in the dirt again. He could hear the monks cheering in the background (well, Omi, Clay and Dojo were anyway). He got up in a hurry and rushed after Sampson, but Sampson had disappeared around the next bend. When Jack rounded that bend he found a stream. The current looked strong and it looked relatively deep. Stepping stones were placed at a reasonable distance away from each other and Sampson was almost across them. Jack hopped onto the first one at the same time as Sampson hopped onto the last one. Jack wanted to push him so badly but he was too far away and he was going too fast. Sampson reached the other bank and was off again. In the distance, Jack could see the Healing Hand of Dashi hovering in the distance, shining its odd, golden light down the path. He thought of Wuya and what would happen if his fist wasn't the first to close on that Shen Gong Wu and shivered and broke out in a hot sweat at the same time. He rushed ahead, jumping from one stone to the next. His tail dipped into the water at one point and he found it was freezing cold. He took a great leap and went straight over the last stone, landing on the back, but he slipped and his legs went into the water. They went numb almost instantly and he gritted his teeth as he slid a little further down the bank. Scrambling desperately, he managed to force his way back up and he was off again. The feeling slowly returned to his feet and ran as fast as he could. Sampson was too far ahead.

Sampson had heard a small splash as Jack hit the water and thanked whatever god there was for it. He was gasping for breath and a stitch was ripping its way up his side at every breath he managed to choke down. He slowed slightly but he kept he didn't stop; he didn't want Jack to catch up.

The next obstacle was gorge so deep the bottom was in darkness. Sampson skidded to a halt and simply looked down its steep, rocky side.

"_How the heck am I supposed to get over this?"_ Sampson thought to himself. He looked around. His ears pricked slightly at the sound of rapid footsteps in the distance, getting closer. His eyes fell on a tree next to the gorge. He entered the long grass and held out the Eye again, aiming it at the tree's base

"Eye of Dashi!" he called. The lightning struck the base of the tree and it creaked ominously. It swayed slightly on its damaged truck. Sampson gave it a hard kick and tipped over, crashing to the ground, one end on the other side of the gorge. Sampson stepped onto it and walked carefully across it.

"Don't look down, Sammy," he whispered to himself. He had never been good with heights. He remembered when he was thirteen years old, he, his mam and dad and his eight year old sister had gone to Paris. At the very top of the Eiffel Tower, he had taken one look over the side, threw up and then passed out. There had been a lot of other incidents like that but none as bad. He mostly just got very dizzy but that was a dangerous thing to happen atop the tree. If he got dizzy, he would fall and he would almost surely die when he hit the bottom. And he couldn't just close his eyes like he had done on Dojo because then he wouldn't know if he was too close to falling or not. He focussed on the Healing Hand of Dashi, floating so closely now and took one step after another. One foot in front of the other. Then he reached the other side and let out a sigh of relief. He chanced one look behind him and saw Jack at the other side of the drop-off. Jack had spotted the tree Sampson had used and was making his way towards it. Sampson ran as fast as he could.

"Oh no you don't," Jack screeched. He raced across the tree trunk, his balance as perfect as ever thanks to the Monkey Staff and ran after Sampson, his eyes narrowed. But it was too late. He knew he'd lost.

That thought had just crossed Jack's mind when Sampson's fist closed around the Healing Hand of Dashi. Its glow faded away and the grass immediately began to shrink back to normal size. The obstacles vanished. The monks were transported back to the ground. The only thing that told of a showdown was the tree Sampson had knocked down, lying on its side on solid ground.

Omi and Clay ran to Sampson. Dojo was curled around Omi's shoulders. Kimiko just stood in the shadow of the tree they had been sat in and waited for them to finish their congratulations.

"_Raimundo could have done that better and you'd still have criticised him,"_ Kimiko thought bitterly as she saw the huge grin on Omi's face.

Jack had simply flopped over and lay panting on the grass, one hand still curled up as if the Monkey Staff was still clutched in it.

"_Maybe I could just run away?"_ he thought, not for the first time. _"No, she'd find me. She'd find me and kill me."_

"_She's going to kill you anyway,"_ another voice said. Jack jumped slightly and looked around. He was sure he hadn't thought that, but there was no one else around to have spoken it.

"Oh great, you're cracking up now," he mumbled. He got to his feet and dusted himself off then took to the skies without another glance down. All he could think of is what Wuya's reaction to him returning empty handed would be.

**.:.:.:.**

Sampson opened his eyes as Dojo landed on the snow covered lawn in front of the Temple. There had been a point during the return trip where he had chanced a glance around himself and caught Kimiko smirking at him. He could almost hear her thinking _"Raimundo's not scared of heights."_ He was already getting a bit sick of her hatred towards him. He wasn't a nasty person but as far as he was concerned, he didn't deserve all her snide remarks. He hadn't done anything to Raimundo. He had never even _met_ Raimundo. He had simply been summoned to the Xiaolin Temple by Master Fung. But he forced himself to keep his cool even when Kimiko didn't keep hers. Surely she couldn't hate him forever.

**.:.:.:.**

"What did I tell you about coming back without the Shen Gong Wu?" Wuya raged. Jack cowered in the corner as Wuya advanced on him, her eyes filled with hatred and anger.

"Please, Wuya!" Jack begged. "I tried!"

"Not hard enough!" Wuya screamed. She backhanded Jack and he was thrown sideways into the wall by the force off it. He slid down to the floor and stared up in terror as Wuya's shadow fell on him again.

"Please don't hurt me!" he screamed. "Please Wuya! I can get it back!"

"If you couldn't get it the first time, how can I trust you to do it right this time?" she asked.

"Please," Jack whispered. Wuya looked down at him for a few moments.

"If the Xiaolin monks use that Shen Gong Wu in the war, I may as well surrender now. If I don't have it by tomorrow night, I swear Jack, I will kill you." Then she turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her. Jack sat on the grimy floor in the dark and wept.

**Well, I hope you liked it. Please remember to review and I will update as soon as possible.**


	7. Plan B

**This chapter's quite short, sorry. It's mostly about Jack. I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 7**

**Plan B**

Jack sat in his dark basement and listened to the silence of the house above him. No sounds of the vacuum cleaner or television. No house parties or dinner parties. His mam was gone and he was still struggling to get the thought of it to stick in his mind. He kept forgetting. _Forgetting _that his mam was _dead._ He did miss her though. More than anything.

He knew it was his fault. It was all his fault. He had caved in to Wuya and given her a body, even though if he had repeatedly said no to her she could have done nothing about it because, obviously, she was a ghost. But no, he'd given in and helped her. And now his mam was dead and a war had begun. Was he to blame for the whole war? Yes. He knew he was. The Dark Queen, whoever the hell she was, couldn't have started a war against Wuya if there was no Wuya to fight against. It was his fault and he knew it. And it was his fault his mam was dead. And it was his fault Raimundo was missing. He hated all the warriors but he'd never wanted them _dead._ He liked to think that was because he was merciful, but deep down, he knew he was just not evil enough. And now the guilt of it all was so overwhelming he thought he was going to be crushed by the very weight if it.

So here he was, locked in his own basement with a load of robot parts and no motivation left to put them together. He was huddled in the corner, hugging his knees. The house was cold. Cold and silent. His impending doom drawing ever closer and the only thing that could save him was just out of his reach. He didn't know how he was going to get the Healing Hand of Dashi from the Xiaolin Temple but Wuya would be coming soon to let him out and he'd have to get it then.

Jack got to his feet and began pacing around the basement, forcing his thoughts to remain on the Healing Hand of Dashi and nothing else. Then something in the corner of the room caught his eye and his plan formed instantly. Jack grinned, looking so much like his old self, and let out his trademark evil laugh.

**.:.:.:.**

Omi sat at the kitchen table listening to reports of the war on the radio which was perched on the kitchen windowsill where it got the best reception. The battle was currently raging in India. This Xiaolin death count so far was 2,000, but the battle was still young and Omi knew there would be thousands more. The Heylin death count was 3,000. Omi sighed. He was anxious to go to war. He knew it was dangerous but he had to fight to protect the world from evil.

Kimiko slouched into the kitchen. She had just come in from outside and her cheeks were flushed with the cold. She dropped into a seat opposite Omi and rested her elbows on the table and propped her head up on her hands.

"Any good news Omi?" she asked.

"I am afraid not, Kimiko," Omi replied gravely. Kimiko stared at the radio, as if she could see the reporter who was speaking, but her eyes were glazed and distant and Omi could tell her was neither seeing nor hearing the reporter. She was thinking about Raimundo. She was always thinking about Raimundo. Omi was beginning to worry. Master Fung had said she would let go eventually but that didn't seem very likely right now. She seemed to be doing everything she could to cling onto him, and make sure everyone else did as well.

Clay burst into the kitchen at that moment, panting.

"Spicer," he said. "He's trying to steal our Shen Gong Wu."

"He'll never get into the vault," Kimiko said, not taking her eyes off the radio.

"We've still got to get rid of him," Clay said and then ran from the room again, Omi at his heels. Kimiko rose from her chair and followed them at a slow pace. She didn't see the need to rush.

In the Temple grounds, Sampson was already fighting Jack. He threw a punch at Jack and then yelped in pain and clutched his hand.

"It's metal!" he cried.

"Jackbot!" Omi said, pointing at the phoney Jack.

"No, Jackbot doesn't do what Jack wants. That's got to be the Chameleonbot," Clay said.

The robot delivered a quick blow to Sampson's head and sent him reeling. Sampson ploughed backwards into the snow.

"Wudai Crater, earth!" Clay growled. He stomped heavily onto the ground, his foot going straight through the blanket of snow. The ground shook like an earthquake and knocked everyone over except Clay. Clay ran towards the robot while it was down but he got there too late. It jumped to its feet and flew away on its fake helibot. The other three warriors, now wet off being knocked into the snow, stood beside Clay and watched the robot fly off.

"Why did Jack send his Chameleonbot?" Kimiko asked. The others only shrugged, clueless.

**.:.:.:.**

By the time the Xiaolin warriors were watching the Chameleonbot fly away, the real Jack was miles away, flying as far away from his house and Wuya as fast as he could. He knew Wuya wasn't stupid and she would probably realise the Jack she beating up for returning without the Healing Hand (always assuming he was right in thinking the robot wouldn't be able to get it- it would be too well guarded) wasn't the real Jack not very long from now, he just hoped it'd give him enough time to find a place to hide. He didn't know what he'd do then. He couldn't stay in hiding for the rest of his life, but he told himself not to think of that yet. He'd take it one step at a time.

He looked down and saw China whizzing by below him. It was the country he had called home for many years and he found that if he ever had to leave it, he wouldn't be sorry to go. Too many bad things had happened here. However, he had nowhere else to go. His first choice would have been America, but of course, he couldn't get into that country anymore. Not alive anyway. He glanced around nervously, already feeling paranoia settling in.

"_It's just your imagination Spicer," _that odd voice said. He knew for a fact it wasn't his voice because he never called himself Spicer, but the only place it could have come from was his own head. An unsettling chill rippled down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold atmosphere. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and lowered his goggles over his red eyes. He continued to circle the Chinese skies, searching for a place to hide, but deep down, that voice was there and it wasn't his voice.

**.:.:.:.**

Wuya screamed with rage when she discovered the Chameleonbot in place of Jack. She threw a green ball of Heylin light at it and the whole thing exploded. Robot parts rained down around her as she stormed from the Spicer house.

"I'll find you, you useless bastard," Wuya promised the empty winter air. "And when I do..." she laughed cruelly. She took to the sky and flew off in the direction of India to join her troops.

**I hope you liked it. I'll update as soon as possible. Please remember to review.**


	8. Buried Treasure

**Took me long enough, I know, but here it is. I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 8**

**Buried Treasure**

Three months went by, December fading into January, January creeping into February and February melting into March along with the snow. No one saw hide or hair of Jack Spicer. Wuya's outrage was not at the fact that he had gone- she could find someone much more competent to do her bidding- but at the fact that he had actually succeeded in getting away from her. It was for that reason and that reason alone that she vowed to find him and put an end to his miserable life. If, of course, he didn't die of exposure or get killed by someone or something else. No Shen Gong Wu had activated in his absence.

**.:.:.:.**

Kimiko and Dojo had been on several more searches for Raimundo, this time going beyond China's border and searching other countries and other continents. Kimiko became more and more convinced Raimundo had somehow found a way into Brazil and was hiding out in his home country, but she knew even he'd gotten in, she would have a hell of a job finding a way in herself.

Sampson accompanied them on one of these searches in an attempt to finally befriend Kimiko and failed miserably. The only time she had spoken to him, or even looked at him, was when she had told him to shut up when he tried several conversation openers. The rest of the time she sat on Dojo with her back to him and he turned his face to the sky and screwed his eyes shut.

Omi and Clay had politely refused the invitation to come along every time by making up excuses. This made Kimiko angry but she knew they would give anything to have Raimundo back as well- even Omi. They just didn't want to get their hopes up.

After seven searches, Dojo began to give up himself. He was curled up on his cushion in the entrance hall of the Temple in a slight doze. He was aware of the sounds around him but his sleepy brain was incorporating them in to his dream, so when his ears picked up the sounds of Kimiko's approaching footsteps, he didn't stir.

"Dojo?" Kimiko asked. He still didn't stir. Kimiko reached out and shook the small dragon gently. His eyes opened and he looked up at her.

"I want to try and get into Brazil," she said. Those words were enough to fully awake Dojo and he sat up quickly.

"You want to _what_?" he said. Kimiko just looked at him. He continued, "Kimiko, you'll get caught. Raimundo won't be there anyways."

"Come on Dojo, please," Kimiko pleaded.

"No," Dojo said, shaking his head. "And I'm not taking you anyways."

"But...why?" Kimiko asked, looking hurt.

"Kimiko..." Dojo said softly. His mind searched frantically for words that would explain what he wanted to say without hurting her more. "If Raimundo was alive, we'd have heard something by now. And we haven't found a single thing on any of the searches."

"So, you think he's dead?" Kimiko asked. Dojo had been expecting her to explode with rage and he wasn't quite sure whether her calm voice was any better. He bit his lip and then nodded slowly. Kimiko just looked at Dojo, her blue eyes fixed intently on him and he could see determination burning fiercely behind them; she would never accept that he was dead until she was shown proof. She was going to do everything she could to find him.

"I'll do it myself then," she said. She got to her feet and left the Temple. Dojo watched her go and sighed unhappily. He had been more than willing to help her look for Raimundo at first- he missed him as well- but after looking fruitlessly and describing him to strangers pointlessly, he had finally joined Master Fung, Omi and Clay and given up hope. If Raimundo was alive, he'd either have come back by now or found some way of contacting them. They'd heard nothing and no one else had seen him. Dojo rested his head on his arms on the soft surface of the pillow and closed his eyes but sleep didn't return.

**.:.:.:.**

Kimiko had persuaded Master Fung to let her take the Golden Tiger Claws out of the vault with the promise that whatever happened, she wouldn't return to the Temple without them. Now she was pacing around the wasteland that was Zhengzhou. The snow had melted and all around her were piles of rubble from hundreds of collapsed buildings, craters in the earth, discarded weapons and twisted skeletons. The sight of it made her feel sick. The snow being there had been bad because it covered absolutely everything and muffled all sounds so you felt like you were in the arctic, but this was so much worse. She could see everything. At her feet was what looked like the remains of someone's arm. She turned away, placed her hands on her knees and vomited. She stood that way, bent over with her hands on her knees, for several minutes, her eyes closed, until she felt a little better then she stood up straight and opened her eyes again. She was immediately blinded by the sunlight bouncing off an object and barging its way into her eyes and she threw her hand up for protection. A cloud rolled over the sun and the glare of light was gone. She blinked stupidly, seeing bright, floating lights. As they faded away she slowly walked towards where the light had come from. She stopped for a second to spit some of the sour taste in her mouth onto the ground then continued.

She stopped at the point where she thought the light had come from. There was an old rifle lying at her feet and nothing else. She looked around puzzled, the wind whipping her hair about her shoulders and in front of her eyes and she brushed it back impatiently her eyes trained on the ground. Then she saw something gold poking out through the dirt a few feet away. She approached it slowly then knelt down before it. She reached out and placed one small hand on it lightly. It was cold. She pulled but it wouldn't budge. Fascinated, she dug both hands into the frozen soil around it and began to dig. It was only small so it didn't take long but she had dirt stuck underneath her nails. She pulled it free. It was small and round, attached to a long, gold chain. The part of it that had been stuck in the ground was caked with frozen dirt but the part that had stuck out of the top of the ground had been washed clean by the snow. Kimiko's heart beat faster. She scratched some of the mud off it, getting more under her nails and not noticing. Then she gasped. She knew what this was. Her heart seemed to stop completely then continue beating faster than ever and her breath caught in her throat. It was Raimundo's medallion. Kimiko looked around frantically and found nothing else. She turned more frozen soil and found nothing else buried. She held the medallion to her chest with her dirty hands and closed her eyes. If she hadn't of turned around at the exact time, she'd never have found it. She sat that way for over an hour, letting tears fall freely to the ground. He was alive and she knew it.

**I don't know when the next chapter will be up but I'll write it as fast as I can. Please review.**


	9. Mind Reader Conch

**Sorry about the wait, but here it is at last. I had a little bit of help with this so thank you to **_**The Supreme Commander**_** :) I hope you all like this chapter.**

**Chapter 9**

**Mind Reader Conch**

"Kimiko, if you found that...it means he's dead," Clay said quietly. He was keeping his voice low, trying his best not to anger Kimiko and feeling his own heart breaking, as it always did, at the thought of Raimundo being gone forever.

"What?" Kimiko asked, horrified. "How?"

"Well...if that's all you've found-"

"If it's all I've found that means he's somewhere else!" Kimiko cried. "There was no body and there was no indication of him being anywhere near there besides this!" Raimundo's medallion, now clean, was clutched tightly in her hand. Omi and Sampson were stood at the side of the conversation, watching helplessly as Kimiko refused to accept that finding the medallion meant nothing. It was just false hope.

"Look at it Clay!" Kimiko said softly, thrusting the medallion into Clay's hand. Unable to resist, Clay's finger closed around his old best friend's most treasured possession and gazed down at it, still hardly able to believe it was there, after all those years.

"I know you don't believe me Clay," Kimiko whispered. "But when I found it, I _knew_ he was alive. And I know you know. This is _Raimundo_ we're talking about. Think of everything he's done for us. For the _world_. Why are you trying to tell me he's dead when, deep down, you don't even believe it yourself?" She pulled the medallion from Clay's hand by its chain and held it up so it swung gently like a pendulum before them. Every eye in the room was on it and it glittered when it hit the light.

"You can think what you like," Kimiko said, raising her voice. Her eyes went from Clay, to Omi, to Sampson, then back on the swinging medallion. "But I know he's alive, and I'm going to prove it." She placed the medallion around her neck and left without a word. Clay looked down at the polished floor. No one made a sound.

**.:.:.:.**

Jack sat in old house on the outskirts of Beijing. Not many buildings in Beijing were left standing and those that were, were completely deserted. The house Jack was in was half ruined itself. The front door was hanging off its hinges and two of the windows were broken. There were signs of a struggle inside, die to broken ornaments and knocked over chairs and tables, which led him to believe that someone fighting for the side of evil had forced their way into this house and taken its inhabitants.

He kept the curtains shut over the windows at all times so he did not have to look out at the destruction and imagine how much damage had been done worldwide. Damage he had caused. He was huddled up on the sofa covered in a blanket he had found in an upstairs cupboard. He had decided against sleeping in the beds; it seemed wrong. He hadn't had much sleep because he was afraid Wuya would find him while he was and he'd never wake up. He already knew that she wouldn't waste more of her time when she'd found him.

Jack shivered and drew the blanket tighter around his body. His neck ached from the way he had been lying and his eyes were sore with tiredness. He glanced around the room nervously but everything was the same. He had been there for two days and he was planning to move on again that night. He couldn't risk staying in the same place too long.

He ran his fingers through his lank red hair and sat up. He pressed his gloved hands against his eyes for a few seconds then removed them and looked around the room again. His stomach growled angrily and he sighed. Food had been hard to come by. He got to his feet and paced around the room.

"_Why don't you just leave Spicer?"_ said that voice. _"Leave now. Come to Brazil." _Jack stopped dead. Brazil? Why would his brain think of Brazil of all places? He couldn't even get into Brazil. He'd be killed on the spot and that was the sort of thing he was trying to avoid. Brazil? Jack scoffed. Just his tired mind, that's all.

"_Except I've been here since before you ran away, haven't I?" _the voice said. _I_?

"I was tired then too!" Jack announced to the silent, empty house.

"_But you know that's not what this is."_

"What's going on?" Jack wailed, childishly, running his fingers through his hair again.

"_Jesus, you're thick,"_ the voice said and laughed. A laugh that Jack recognised but couldn't put his finger on.

His stomach rumbled again and placed itself before any other thoughts in Jack's mind. He dropped the blanket that he still held around him to the floor and opened his long black coat. He'd had that same coat for years and years. It was his favourite and he didn't want to throw it away, mainly due to the many large pockets on the inside of it. He had a habit of putting things in those pockets and then losing them. He unzipped of the top pockets and began to spill its contents onto the sofa he had been lying on.

"_Looking for money?"_ the voice asked.

"Yes," Jack replied, not bothering to worry about that voice. Deep down, he was glad of its company.

"_I know. I can read your thoughts. I thought I'd just be polite."_

"You can't read my thoughts. You _are_ my thoughts," Jack said. The voice chuckled softly. Jack had emptied out three more pockets. He had found a few pennies and that was it. He had also found a tiny tub of glitter he had taken off his cousin Megan to stop her pouring it around his basement and, consequentially, ended up with a pocket full of the stuff instead, a few cogs he had carried in his pockets when he wasn't able to carry all of the remains of his broken Jackbots in his arms, a few empty crisp wrappers and chocolate bar wrappers and an extra pair of gloves he had lost several years ago.

"I should check my pockets more often," Jack mused as he looked at the gloves. He unzipped another pocket.

"_You're getting closer,"_ the voice said.

"Do I have money?" Jack asked getting excited, forgetting that this voice shouldn't know such a thing, because _he_ didn't know such a thing.

"_No," _the voice said.

"Closer to what then?" Jack asked impatiently, throwing handfuls of more wrappers onto the sofa. Then his fist closed on something large, round and metal.

"_To me," _the voice said. Jack brought out the Shen Gong Wu had regarded as useless and forgotten about for almost _five_ years; The Mind Reader Conch. Then he remembered.

**.:.:Flashback:.:.**

Jack was stood at his workbench, tightening screws and bolts on his latest batch of robots when Wuya drifted through the wall screeching his name, her eyes blazing with eerie golden light.

"Jack! A new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself!" she cried. "The Mind Reader Conch!"

"That revealed itself ages ago. We have it, remember?" Jack said.

"No, boy!" Wuya said. "There are two of them. The two people to possess them are able to communicate through thoughts alone; no matter how far apart they are, as long as they each have the Shen Gong Wu with them."

"Sweet," Jack said. He dropped the wrench onto the workbench and raised his goggles from his eyes, placing them on his head.

Not much later, Jack was landing lightly on the flat roof of a company building, looking across at the Xiaolin warriors as they climbed hastily from Dojo's back. He shielded his eyes from the hot sun with his hand and looked around.

"Over there!" Raimundo yelled from the other side of the roof. Jack looked back at the warriors and saw Raimundo running to what appeared to be a rock, among other rocks in the shadow of the short wall that ran around the edge of the roof.

"Jack, get it!" Wuya screamed. Jack ran too and rushed past Kimiko, knocking her sideways. She yelled in surprise as she fell.

"You no good dirty snake!" Clay growled as he ran to make sure Kimiko was okay. Jack flung out an arm and his and Raimundo's hands fell on the second Conch at the same time.

"Raimundo, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown," Jack said. "My Mantis Flip Coin against your Sword of the Storm. The game is a battle with three rounds. You have to be knocked out of the ring to lose, and the winner of the most rounds wins the showdown."

"Let's do it," Raimundo said, grinning confidently, his hand clutched around the hilt of the Sword.

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

The ground shook and a line was drawn around Jack and Raimundo in bright white light that created a wall around them.

"Oh great, now we can't see," Kimiko said, grumpily.

"At least you'll see who gets thrown out of the ring," Dojo shrugged. A scoreboard sprouted from the ground and towered above everything including the wall of light. On it was _"Round, 1 Score: Xiaolin 0-0 Heylin"_.

"Gong Yi Tempai!"

"Sword of the Storm!" Raimundo called. The blade began to spin in his hand, so fast it became a blur and created a small tornado from its tip. Jack squealed.

"Mantis Flip Coin!" Jack said a little more high-pitched than was necessary and flipped over the hurricane. Raimundo directed the hurricane at Jack again and it caught him in the back. Jack was blown right over the top of the wall of white light and landed in a heap at the Xiaolin monks' feet. They all looked down at him.

"Round two," Dojo announced. Clay pulled Jack to his feet and shoved him forcefully back into the ring as the scoreboard changed to _"Xiaolin 1-0 Heylin"_.

"Mantis Flip Coin!" Jack yelled. He flipped over Raimundo again, this time landing behind him and pushing Raimundo. He had aimed to knock Raimundo straight out of the ring but instead Raimundo just stumbled a few paces, nearly overbalanced, flung out his arms and regained his balance. He turned on Jack with one eyebrow raised.

"Are you that weak, Spicer?" he asked.

"I'm not weak!" Jack protested angrily. He charged at Raimundo but Raimundo simply sidestepped him and stuck out his foot. Jack tripped and flung his arms forward to break his fall as he hit the concrete floor.

"Sword of the Storm!" Raimundo said. The wind that erupted from the tip of the Sword circled around Jack, lifting him into the air.

"Hey, put me down!" Jack wailed. "Put me down, put me down!"

"Alright," Raimundo said pleasantly. He controlled the wind, causing it to transport Jack gently through the light wall and plant him safely on his feet beside Wuya. The scoreboard read _"Xiaolin 2-0 Heylin"_.

"You fool, Jack!" Wuya said in despairing anger. "Why do you always lose?"

"I'm trying!" Jack said.

"Try harder, boy!" Wuya commanded. Jack ran around the outside of the ring, to the side Raimundo would have his back to, the silently entered it. He had been right, Raimundo hadn't moved. He was still waiting for Jack to enter from the side he had exited. Jack tip-toed closer then cried,

"Mantis Flip Coin!" he flipped into the air and seized Raimundo's arms as he went. He flipped Raimundo over his head then let go and Raimundo was sent hurtling towards the edge of the ring.

"Wudai Star, wind!" Raimundo called hurriedly. He felt an invisible yet solid ball of air gather around him, like a cushion and he stopped in mid air, millimetres away from the white wall. He turned in the air to face Jack and smirked.

"No fair!" Jack cried.

"You can fly. But you didn't think of that did you?" Raimundo asked, laughing. "You really are thick, Spicer." He rushed at Jack. Jack screamed and tried to run and then remembered he had nowhere to run to. Raimundo caught him underneath the arms and lifted him off the ground. He flew to the edge of the ring and tossed Jack lightly through it.

"Bye, bye," Raimundo said smiling, and he alighted on the ground again. The scoreboard changed to _"Xiaolin 3-0 Heylin"_ and then it shrank back into non-existence and the light wall faded away.

"If I had a stomach, I'd be hurling. That's how sick you make me," Wuya said to Jack. The she flew off.

"Hey, wait!" Jack said, going after her on his helibot.

**.:.:End Flashback:.:.**

Jack didn't know exactly how long he'd had the Mind Reader Conch in his jacket for but he knew it must have been a while. The warriors had said they'd lost the other one though, years ago. So what if...but it was impossible...but just maybe...

"Raimundo?" Jack asked quietly.

"_Well it's about time. Fucking hell, you really are stupid,"_ Raimundo's voice said and laughed._"Now listen carefully, here's what I want you to do."_

**As usual I can't guarantee the next chapter will be up soon, but I'll try my best. I hope you liked this chapter and please remember to review.**


	10. The Pedrosas

**Yey, chapter 10! As always, I tried my best no matter how long it took, so I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 10**

**The Pedrosas**

The days were gradually getting warmer and the Temple was bathed in sunlight. Sampson was learning fast and that didn't improve Kimiko's mood. There had been two more Shen Gong Wu activating but not a single person turned up to collect them so the warriors took them back to the Temple without hassle. They should have been pleased with this but instead it made them feel uneasy. Why had Wuya given up on the Shen Gong Wu?

Kimiko was sat on the porch steps in front of the Temple and her mind was made up. Her eyes were on the Shen Gong Wu vault with its padlocked door. She knew Master Fung always gave the key to Dojo to guard, so all she had to do was wait until Dojo fell asleep. She was aware that what she was about to do meant she might be dead by tomorrow morning, and even if she did return to the Temple, she'd be in a _lot_ of trouble.

She shifted position and tried to get comfortable but her nervousness made that impossible. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably as the sun began to set and long shadows were drawn across the ground. She inhaled the cool evening air deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to calm her nerves. It was starting to get dark now. She took a quick glance behind her at the open doorway and saw Dojo's cushion. He was curled up on it but not quite asleep.

"_Another half an hour should do it,"_ she thought to herself.

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees nearby and lifted her hair slightly. She drew up her legs and rested her chin on her knees. This could be her last ever day on Earth.

**.:.:.:.**

Clay and Omi sat in Omi's small room sipping mugs of hot chocolate. They were both ready for bed but neither felt like sleeping. Clay took a sip from his mug and winced slightly as the scalding liquid stung his tongue. Omi was staring down into his own mug, swirling his drink gently.

"Sure had been quite with Spicer gone as well," Clay said. Omi nodded without looking up. Clay just watched Omi sadly. He knew Kimiko's determination in Raimundo being alive was starting to affect Omi too he himself still believed Raimundo to be dead although he hoped with all his heart he was wrong. Omi on the other hand was starting to come around to Kimiko's way of thinking.

Omi continued to start down into his swirling hot chocolate, seeming to be almost hypnotised by it. Clay scratched his head and took another sip from his mug.

"Suppose it's been a lot easier getting Shen Gong Wu," he said. Omi didn't reply. He didn't even look up. "Unless Wuya turns up," Clay said. He knew Omi wasn't really listening, but he wanted to keep the silence away. When it was quiet he started to wonder just what had happened to Raimundo. Had he been captured or killed in battle? Had he died quickly or had he suffered? He didn't want to think about those things. Raimundo had always pulled pranks on him and teased him, but if he was in danger, he knew Raimundo would have done anything to rescue him. To rescue any of them. He was a brave and kind at heart. To Clay, Raimundo had been like a brother. To Kimiko, Clay knew Raimundo had meant more to her than that. That was why she refused to let him go.

Omi took a tiny drink of his hot chocolate then returned to staring blankly at it. Then he looked up and fixed Clay with his dark eyes, and Clay knew what Omi was about to say.

"I do not believe Raimundo is dead," Omi said, confirming Clay's belief. "But I think he may have suffered greatly."

Clay just stared at Omi, lost for words.

"What makes you say that li'l partner?" Clay asked finally. Omi looked back down at his cooling drink and said nothing for a while. Minutes passed and Clay was sure Omi was not going to mention it again when Omi looked up and fixed him with his determined yet sad gaze.

"Raimundo was a great warrior. I teased him because he messed up a lot but really he was just learning more than I have, and those mistakes really helped him in the end. He knew the Heylin side's weaknesses. And he was a great fighter. I was wrong to tease him because he was always going to be better than me, better than any of us, and Master Fung was right to make him Wudai Warrior...but he was wrong to send him to war. I am sure Raimundo fought bravely, and his fought many battles and survived, but I do not believe he was ready for it. I think Raimundo is alive, but maybe not for much longer. If he was still fighting, we'd know because we'd hear some sort of news of it, but we've heard nothing for years. If he was dead, we would also have heard something about it. We have not. I think Kimiko is right."

"What...what makes you think that?" Clay asked quietly. And then a small grin spread across Omi's lips.

"Tiger instincts," he said. Clay just looked at Omi for a few moments and then he grinned as well.

"To Raimundo," he said, holding up his mug. "Hope you're alright Rai."

"To Raimundo," Omi repeated, still smiling. They clinked their cups together and took a sip each.

**.:.:.:.**

Kimiko approached the vault cautiously. The key for the padlock was clutched tightly in her hand. It had been easy enough to get it once Dojo was asleep and snoring loudly; he was a heavy sleeper. It was almost dark now and the only sound Kimiko could here was the pounding of her own terrified heart.

She reached the vault and opened the lock, cringing at how loud the metal seemed as it sprung open. She placed it gently onto the grass and pushed open the door. She half expected alarms to go off, even held her breath waiting for them, but none did and she stepped into the shadows of the vault. She played the tune with the bells hanging beside the door and prayed the sound of them didn't carry back to the temple. The floor lowered and formed stepped into darkness.

"Fire," Kimiko whispered. A tiny flame flickered into life in her left hand and cast eerie shadows across the walls. She descended the steps. The first draw she came to held the Golden Tiger Claws. She took them out and held them securely in her right hand. The next draw she came to held the Eye of Dashi and she hung that around her neck where it lay on her chest beside Raimundo's medallion. The next draw contained The Healing Hand of Dashi which she placed deep into her pocket and prayed to god she didn't lose it. Her own Wudai weapon, the Arrow Sparrow, was placed over her shoulders and hanging lightly at her right hip. She climbed back up the steps and closed the vault. She exited the building, placed the padlock back on the door and locked it then dropped the key into the pocked that contained the Healing Hand of Dashi. The fire in her left hand vanished

The air was chilly when the wind blew. Kimiko swept her hair from her face and faced the Xiaolin Temple.

"If I mess up, I'm sorry," she whispered to the silent, sleeping building. "But I hope it does...Golden Tiger Claws!" she slashed the air with her right hand and opened up a hole that looked down into a swirling grey vortex. She took another look at the Temple then jumped into the vortex and the opening closed up behind her.

**.:.:.:.**

The afternoon was warm in Rio de Janeiro. It was three o'clock and the streets were packed and noisy. Kimiko jumped from a new opening in the air behind a large building where no one could see her then she tucked the Golden Tiger Claws into her pocket and dropped the Eye of Dashi down the front of her loose T-shirt.

Kimiko made her way to the front of the building and the main street and was dazzled by the bright sunlight. She smiled as she remembered Raimundo telling her about Brazil, and how she had wished she could go there. Well, here she was. She had never met Raimundo's family before but Raimundo had told her where they lived and from directions she had been given so many years before, she began to wander the streets of Rio. Eventually though, she needed directions and, of course, she didn't speak Portuguese. There had been some nights when she and Raimundo had sat up together, her teaching his Japanese and him teaching her Portuguese. But there was nothing she could use in this situation so she needed to find someone who spoke English.

"Excuse me?" she said tentatively to a tall man walking towards her. The man looked at her with a confused expression.

"Do you speak English?" she asked. The man said something she couldn't understand, shook his head as if in apology and walked away.

"Well...could have been worse," Kimiko said to herself. She continued to wander around looking for a person who could speak English and was kind enough to help her. Eventually she found one.

"Raimundo Pedrosa?" the man said with a hint of surprise. "Yeah I knew him. Used to go to school with him. Sorry he died."

"Yeah," Kimiko replied, not bothering to go into her theory of how she believed him to be alive. "Do you know when he lived? Where his family lives now?"

"Yes," the man said. He checked his wristwatch. "There's time. I'll show you. What's your name?"

"Kimiko," Kimiko answered. "Thanks for your help." They began walking.

It was a fifteen minute walk to the Pedrosa's house, in which the man introduced himself as Alexio and even went into a few stories of when he and Raimundo were in school. Kimiko prayed he wasn't going to ask how she had gotten into Brazil without getting caught. It was easy to forget that the country had been overrun in the bright, baking sunlight in the middle of the packed streets. But here and there she noticed odd things. She saw more people marching through the streets in uniforms. She saw buildings that had been either broken into or boarded up. She saw people begging on the streets in faded, ragged clothes that looked like they had once been quite expensive and well kept that made het think these people had been made homeless only recently. There were "wanted" and "missing" posters everywhere although she couldn't read them. And every now and again she heard a panicked scream and a gunshot that were mostly drowned out by the over-noisy sound of the crowds around her. People spoke in loud voices and they didn't seem to look around much, as if they were trying to ignore what was going on around them. And Alexio kept casting nervous glances at Kimiko and then around them, as if he didn't trust her or didn't feel safe with her. But what she didn't see was the small figure with the red hair flying overhead on two propellers.

"Here it is," he said at last, coming to a halt. Before them was an ordinary looking house with an overgrown garden and one boarded up window. Kimiko looked at it then glanced at Alexio. Alexio nodded once, briefly, as if to urge her forward, and she approached the door. Then an obvious question occurred to her, a question that could ruin her whole plan. She turned back to Alexio.

"Do they speak...English..." she trailed off. Alexio was gone. She stood on the spot, puzzled for several seconds then turned back to the house. She sighed, hoped for the best and knocked on the door.

**.:.:.:.**

Sampson had been lying awake in bed for a while before he finally decided to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He tip-toed past the other three rooms, paused, then backtracked and stopped outside Kimiko's room. The curtain was open and she was gone. He hadn't heard her leave the room but he couldn't really remember her entering it either.

He looked at the room, puzzled, for a moment then went to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and stood before the sink as he drank it. When he was done he placed the glass in the sink and turned to leave. That was when he noticed the note on the kitchen table. He picked it up a read it, growing steadily more horrified.

_Omi, Clay, Master Fung and Dojo,_

_I know you're going to hate me for this and I knew you'd never agree to let me do it, that's why I didn't tell you and why I left in secret. I've taken some Shen Gong Wu from the vault and I'm going to Brazil. I know Raimundo is alive and I think he might be there. I'm going to see if I can find his family._

_As you know, Brazil has been overrun by Wuya so if she catches me or if anyone working for her does, she'll probably kill me. If that happens then I want you to know that I'm really sorry for the trouble I've caused and then Shen Gong Wu I've lost you._

_I know you will be angry but please don't hate me. I just want to know that Rai is okay. I'd do anything to have him back with us._

_Kimiko_

_Xxx_

Sampson remained where he was, the note clutched in his hand. He glanced in the direction of the four tiny rooms where Clay and Omi were sleeping then he left the kitchen and headed for the entrance hall where Dojo slept. He shook the dragon awake and Dojo looked at him with bleary, sleepy eyes.

"Do you have the key for the Temple vault?" Sampson asked. Dojo's eyes suddenly narrowed suspiciously.

"Yeah, but you're not allowed in. No one but Master Fung is, that's why I'm guarding it," he said slowly.

"I'm not asking for it," Sampson said. "But do you actually have it, right now?"

Dojo lifted up the cushion he lay curled up on and dug around underneath it. Then his eyes grew wide.

"No...It's gone," he said. "Who's been in? Master Fung is going to kill me!" Dojo said, panic-stricken. Then Sampson shoved the note from Kimiko under Dojo's nose and Dojo scanned it. Then he looked back up into Sampson's green eyes.

"What do we do?" Sampson asked.

"I'll get Master Fung," Dojo said and he slithered off. Sampson kneeled on the floor and prayed Kimiko was still alive.

**I hope you enjoyed it. My updates are getting really slow so I don't know when the next chapter will be up but I'll make it a good one, I promise. Remember to review.**


	11. The Pedrosas II

**I'm getting less and less free time due to far too much college work, but I'm making free time to write for you, all my lovely readers and reviewers, so I hope you like it. Also, I have noticed that some people are adding this to their story alerts and stuff but not reviewing and I was just wondering if you'd mind taking just a minute or two to give me some feedback and maybe some ideas and stuff please. Thank you. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 11**

**The Pedrosas II**

Kimiko stood on the doorstep, heart pounding, listening to footsteps inside. Then the door swung open and a woman with long, curly brown hair, wide brown eyes and a scar that ran across her lower lip stood before Kimiko. She hadn't opened the door fully and was leaning out from behind it, as if trying to hide herself. She said something but Kimiko didn't understand it.

"I'm Kimiko," Kimiko said desperately. The woman looked at her for another moment then her eyes softened slightly.

"Kimiko Tohomiko?" she asked. Kimiko nodded. "Rai's friend," the woman said. She smiled too but it was a sad smile and it made part of Kimiko's hope vanish like the flame of a candle.

"Are you Raimundo's mother?" she asked. The woman nodded.

"Yarah Pedrosa," the woman answered. Then her eyes suddenly narrowed "How did you get here?" Kimiko held up the Golden Tiger Claws.

"It's a Shen Gong Wu that can transport you anywhere you want," Kimiko explained.

"You might still get caught while you're here," Yarah said. "She's already watching us. She'll kill you. She might take another one of my children away," Yarah's voice began to shake.

"..._Another_ one of your children?" Kimiko said, suddenly frightened for this woman she had just met. Frightened for Raimundo's family who had already suffered enough.

"We told her we didn't know where Raimundo was but she wouldn't listen!" Yarah said beginning to cry. "I shouldn't be talking to you. My family is in enough trouble as it is." She began to shut the door but Kimiko caught it and stopped her. She looked into Yarah's tear filled brown eyes.

"I'm here to help you," Kimiko said calmly. "I think Raimundo's alive and I'm going to find him no matter what it takes. I need your help."

**.:.:.:.**

"Kimiko has taken the Healing Hand of Dashi. If something happens to her and it falls into the wrong hands we may be in great trouble," Master Fung said gravely.

"But surely Kimiko knows of its importance. How could she be so stupid as to take it to a country ruled by Wuya without permission?" Omi said. The three dragons, Master Fung and Dojo were stood on the steps inside the Temple vault.

"Who cares about what might happen to us if someone else gets that Wu, why aren't we focusing on making sure nothing _does_ happen to Kimiko?" Sampson demanded.

"Fair point," Clay nodded.

"Come on. Let's fucking go!" Sampson said restlessly. He raced out into the Temple grounds. Omi, Clay and Dojo exchanged glances before following.

"Sampson!" Omi said, tugging on Sampson's sleeve.

"What?" Sampson said, exasperated.

"How are we going to get into Brazil?" Omi said seriously. Sampson just looked at Omi as hope drained from his green eyes.

**.:.:.:.**

Yarah had reluctantly let Kimiko into the house after several furtive glances around to make sure no one was looking. Once inside, she collapsed onto an old sofa and wept. Kimiko stood before her and glanced around nervously. The house was a mess. All the curtains had been drawn shut and only a dim light shone through them, making the house dark. It was quiet except for Yarah's sobbing.

"Mrs Pedrosa...Yarah...tell me what's happened since Raimundo disappeared," Kimiko said. Yarah wiped her tears with the back of her hand and looked up at Kimiko. Her eyes were red from crying and full of hopeless desperation.

"Can you really help me?" she asked. Kimiko simply looked into Yarah's pleading, wide brown eyes, not sure what to say.

"Yes," Kimiko said eventually and hoped she wasn't lying. "I promise. Now tell me everything." Yarah looked down at the dirty floor, gulped then began to speak.

"He sent us letters regularly, ever since he left for China. They got fewer after he went to war but he still sent them, to reassure us that he was okay. Then they just stopped. We waited for months and heard nothing. Then we got a letter. I thought it was off him at last but it wasn't. It was off his teacher...Master...I forget his name sorry. But it was saying how Raimundo had disappeared and he thought he might be dead and he was really sorry," a trace of bitterness crept into her voice at that but then she swallowed again and when she continued it was gone. "It wasn't his fault I know. Rai had to go to war to help protect the world and he did brilliantly. But then _she _came looking," Yarah said.

"Wuya," Kimiko said. Yarah nodded and her eyes met Kimiko's once again and this time they were fearful.

"She said she didn't believe he was dead. She thought we were hiding him and she said he had to die for daring to fight against her. For daring to betray her. She had the whole house turned upside down in her search for him but of course he wasn't here. She still wasn't convinced. She said just because he wasn't in the house it didn't mean we didn't know where he was so she..." she broke off into tears again and covered her face with her hands. Kimiko waited patiently but he heart broke at the sight of the poor defenceless woman, weeping for her children.

"She took Carlos," she managed at last. "She said if we gave her Rai she'd let Carlos go and if we didn't she'd kill him. I don't even know if Carlos is still alive! He's only seventeen! What if he's dead? What if Rai's dead? What if she comes back and takes someone else?"

Kimiko couldn't bear it anymore. She sat beside Yarah and wrapped her arm around Yarah's shoulders. Yarah didn't move but she didn't push Kimiko away either, she simply cried.

"Yarah, I promise you, I'm going to get Raimundo and Carlos back alive and I'm going to defeat Wuya," Kimiko said, her voice strong with determination.

"Can you really do that?" Yarah whispered. Tears still fell silently down her cheeks but her eyes were now fixed on Kimiko again.

"I can," Kimiko replied. "I will."

"Rai spoke about you a lot," Yarah said and a small smile graced her scarred lips and made her look ten years younger, transforming her back into the beautiful woman Kimiko had seen in the family photograph on Raimundo's bedside table back at the Temple. "I think he liked you."

Kimiko smile as well but she shook her head.

"We were good friends, but that's all it was," she replied. Yarah wiped her eyes and became serious again.

"How are you going to beat Wuya?" she asked. Kimiko thought for a moment.

"I'll find a way," she said. The determination blazing in her eyes was overpowering but Yarah still had doubts.

"She'll kill you," Yarah sniffed.

"No she won't. Not before she's paid for what she's done to your family," Kimiko replied.

At that moment, the door opened and a girl in her early twenties walked in. She had long black hair, tied back in a ponytail and her fringe was long but swept aside revealing dark green eyes, just like Raimundo's. She was dressed in a plain white tank top and baggy ripped jeans. Her feet were bare. She saw Kimiko and froze. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion and fear. Yarah spoke to her daughter in Portuguese so Kimiko could not understand her, but relief washed over the girl's face so Kimiko assumed her mother was telling her Kimiko meant no harm.

"I'm Bethania," the girl said. Her voice was strong. "Are you really going to help us? Are you going to save Carlos?"

"I'm going to save Carlos, find Raimundo and beat Wuya," Kimiko answered. Bethania looked at Kimiko for a moment and then she spoke.

"Let me help you," she said.

"Beth," Yarah protested. Bethania began to speak to her mother defensively in Portuguese. The look on her face told Kimiko she wasn't taking no for an answer.

Yarah sighed sadly and looked at Kimiko. Bethania's eyes turned to Kimiko too.

"They're my little brothers. I'll never forgive Wuya for taking them away from us. I want to make her suffer for what she's done. I'm coming with you no matter you say," Bethania said.

"Okay," Kimiko replied. "We'll have to go back to China though. Are you willing to leave Brazil?"

"I'll do anything, as long as it saves my family," Bethania replied. Kimiko smiled slightly then turned her gaze to Yarah.

"Don't worry. I'll look after her," she assured Yarah. Yarah didn't look convinced but she nodded. Bethania smiled at her mother and spoke to her in a reassuring tone. Yarah got to her feet, went to her eldest child and hugged her tightly. Kimiko looked away, beginning to feel as if she was intruding. Yarah planted a kiss on Bethania's forehead then released her. Then Bethania turned back to Kimiko.

"How do we get to China?" she asked. Kimiko held up the Golden Tiger Claws.

**.:.:.:.**

Omi and Sampson were sat on the porch steps at the front of the Temple. It had been an hour and a half since Sampson had discovered Kimiko's note. They had decided it was too risky to fly into Brazil on Dojo and had no other way of getting there, so they had to settle for simply waiting for her to return and hoping she was okay.

"Did Kimiko and Raimundo get on well when he was here?" Sampson asked.

"Kimiko and Raimundo got on just as well as we all did," Omi replied.

"...He seemed like a really good guy," Sampson said.

"He pulled pranks on us all. He made fun of us all. He never did his chores. He was lazy. He betrayed us and went to the dark side and nearly got us all killed. He saved our lives so many times and he was always there to cheer us up if we were feeling upside down," Omi said.

"It's just down," Sampson corrected him, although he was amazed at what Omi was telling him. Omi took no notice.

"He was brave and determined. He always went against Master Fung's will, like when we were told to take the Shen Gong Wu and hide from Mala Mala Jong, Raimundo came back to fight. Master Fung was angry but Raimundo just wanted to help," Omi looked at Sampson and smiled. "He was a really good person."

"Yeah...he sounds it," Sampson replied.

"You would have liked him," Omi said, facing the Temple grounds again. Sampson opened his mouth to answer when a rip suddenly appeared in thin air at the other side of the grounds. Kimiko and Bethania tumbled out of it onto the grass. Omi and Sampson jumped to their feet and raced over to the two girls.

"What were you thinking?" Omi demanded before Kimiko could even open her mouth.

"I'm trying to save Raimundo's family!" Kimiko answered back, defensively. "And to be honest, I'm trying to save all of Brazil!"

"It was irresponsible!" Omi said.

"It was more than you did! Raimundo always took risks!" Kimiko argued.

"Yes and now he's dead!" Omi said.

"He's not dead," Bethania interrupted. Omi's attention was drawn to Bethania for the first time and he just looked at her questioningly, as did Sampson, who was simply stood with his hands in his pockets, not involving himself in the argument.

"I'm Bethania," Bethania told Omi. "Raimundo's sister. I'm going to help you defeat Wuya and free my brother."

Master Fung appeared behind Omi.

"I trust you are well," he said, his eyes going between Bethania and Kimiko. They both nodded. "Then go inside and tell us what has happened," Master Fung ordered gently. Kimiko led Bethania into the Temple and Omi, Sampson and Master Fung followed.

**I hope you liked it. I'll update as soon as possible. Remember to review. Thanks!**


	12. The Servant

**Chapter 12**

**The Servant**

"What's the new Wu Dojo?" Clay asked as they soared through bright skies and past fluffy white clouds. Bethania gaped around in amazement and excitement while, behind her, Sampson did his best not to look down at the ground far below.

Dojo unravelled the scroll.

"It's called the Butterfly Amulet," he told his five passengers. "It's a necklace that released a load of golden butterflies that captivate the enemy and gives you time to either attack or run away...or pull their pants down and laugh at them."

"Only Raimundo would do that," Kimiko said and Bethania burst into fits of giggles.

"I don't know what to think of Raimundo. You say really good things about him then say stuff like that," Sampson said, one eyebrow raised in question.

"You won't until you meet him," Bethania replied and Kimiko nodded.

"_If you ever get to meet him,"_ Omi thought, but did not dare voice in front of Raimundo's oldest sister.

"Butterflies will not distract me, no matter what colour they are," Omi did say out loud.

"These ones will," Dojo replied simply. A silence fell on the six of them and remained there until Dojo landed on a snow blanketed mountain top.

The four warriors and Bethania dismounted and looked around.

"You never said anything about cold," Bethania said, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth.

"We never know where it is until we get there," Kimiko explained apologetically. "Dojo just follows his senses."

"You told me he was the one who hid them in the first place," Bethania said.

"Yeah, fifteen hundred years ago," Dojo said defensively, shrinking back to his tiny form and creeping under Clay's hat to hide from the biting cold. Bethania shivered but looked around in awe at the mountainous scenery.

"I've never been on a mountain before," she said.

"We get to go to loads of places like this," Kimiko said. "It's really exciting."

"I'm so jealous," Bethania said.

"Maybe you should consider staying with us," Kimiko proposed.

"Oh no, I don't want to get in your way. I'll just help you find Rai and Carlos," Bethania said.

"You wouldn't be," Kimiko replied. "I'd quite like some girl company for a change." Bethania smiled but she did not reply.

"Over there!" Clay shouted, pointing to a tiny gleam of gold further uphill.

"Well thank you very much," said a cool, smug voice from above them. Wuya soared over their heads. Bethania screamed. The result was a tiny snowfall that completely covered up the gold gleam Clay had spotted. Wuya landed delicately on the snow before Bethania. Bethania took several steps backwards, her eyes locked on Wuya in horror.

"I knew you'd left Brazil. I _knew_ Yarah had lied to me!" Wuya spat.

"What have you done to her?" Bethania asked, suddenly angry. "You've already ruined our family, what have you done to my mother!"

"Oh, don't worry dear, I haven't harmed her. I simply moved your younger brother's twin to a...more comfortable accommodation," Wuya said sweetly.

"Renaldo?" Bethania whispered. "Please don't hurt him."

"If he gets hurt, it's your fault," Wuya smiled. At that moment, Sampson made a break for the Shen Gong Wu and Kimiko made a lunge at Wuya. Wuya darted back into the air, avoiding Kimiko and causing her to tumble headfirst into the snow with a surprised squeal. Then Wuya was headed towards the Shen Gong Wu, racing Sampson to get to it. They both got there first and reached for it at the same time.

"Sampson, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown," Wuya said before Sampson could beat her to it. "First to climb the mountain and get the Shen Gong Wu wins. My Fist of Tebigong against your Eye of Dashi," Wuya said. There was an evil glint in her eyes.

"Deal," Sampson said confidently, praying the fear he felt didn't show on his face.

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

The mountain shook and the warriors feared an avalanche. The mountain grew taller and its shadow stretched over the ground far below. They warriors gazed up at it and Bethania made a soft noise in her throat as she watched the mountain sprout up before her eyes.

Wuya and Sampson stood side by side, staring up at the mountain's new height.

"Gong Yi Tempai!"

In an instant, Wuya had soared into the air and was racing up the mountain with alarming speed.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Sampson said. He began to scramble up after her. "Eye of Dashi!" The bolt of lightning that shot from the Shen Gong Wu missed Wuya and hit the rocks, sending snow tumbling down. Sampson let out a yell and clutched to the side of the mountain and the snow poured over him.

"Fuck that's cold!" cried. Bethania giggled.

"Come on Sampson, you can do it!" Omi cheered.

"_You never cheered for Rai,"_ Kimiko thought.

"There's no way he's going to win," Clay said hopelessly. Sampson was climbing the mountain at fast rate but Wuya was already nearing the peak and hadn't even touched the mountain yet. Sampson didn't dare use the Eye of Dashi again either. Wuya was moving too fast to hit her and this time he might cause an avalanche. Wuya was getting nearer.

"Wind!" Sampson called and Kimiko cringed slightly. A strung gust of wind raced up the mountain from the palm of his hand towards Wuya but missed her again and hit the snow. Sampson cursed under his breath. Then Wuya was there. She was at the top. She had won.

There was a flash and the scene returned to normal. Sampson stood beside his fellow warriors, dripping wet from the snow and shivering. Wuya alighted before them, holding up the Butterfly Charm. It was a fine gold chain with a tiny golden butterfly hung on it. Then Wuya's dangerous eyes flicked to Sampson.

"You're a perfect replacement for Raimundo. He was weak as well," she said.

"Raimundo was not weak!" Kimiko suddenly screamed. Snow tumbled down the mountain but caused no harm. Kimiko lunged at Wuya but Clay caught her around the waist and pulled her back.

"What have you done with him? Where is he?" Kimiko demanded.

"If I knew, his family wouldn't be suffering would they?" Wuya said calmly, she glanced at Bethania then back to Kimiko. Then she smiled.

"Butterfly Charm," she said gently. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of beautiful golden butterflies flew from the tiny replica on the chain and fluttered around the warriors and Bethania. The five of them stared at the butterflies with wonder; all other thoughts left their minds. Wuya giggled and took to the skies again. The butterflies remained. They seemed to sparkle with beauty. Then they began to turn black and shrivelled until finally they disappeared altogether. The warriors and Bethania remained where they were, gazing around with confusion.

"What just happened?" Bethania asked.

"How long have we been here?" Sampson said.

"Let's just get out of here," Dojo said, jumping down from Clay's hat and transforming into his full dragon sized body. The five of them clambered aboard and he took off. No one spoke.

**.:.:.:.**

Dojo landed softly on the grass outside the Temple and the warriors and Bethania jumped to the ground. Dojo shrank.

"It's a shame you lost, but that was so cool!" Bethania said. The warriors smiled slightly but then stopped when they noticed a figure approaching. A figure that wasn't Mast Fung. Kimiko took Bethania by the wrist and gently pulled her back so she was standing behind the four warriors. Then they got ready fight, should they need to.

The figure stopped before them. It was a man. He was wearing a long black cloak with the hood up that covered most of his face so that all that was visible was his mouth and chin. The sleeves went down over his hands and feet and the hem trailed on the ground behind him.

"Who are you?" Omi asked.

"I am a loyal servant, sent by Her Majesty The Dark Queen," the man said. "I bring you a message from her."

The four warriors looked at each other.

"Go on then," Kimiko said tentatively.

"Any Xiaolin Warriors who joins the war shall be hunted down and killed," the servant said. "However, any Warrior who stays out of the war and does not interfere shall be spared when Her Majesty The Dark Queen seizes control of the world."

"I'm afraid we can't allow that," Clay said.

"Her Majesty the Dark Queen also said that if that's the case you'll meet the same end as your former friend, Raimundo Pedrosa, the Xiaolin Dragon of the Wind," the servant said.

"Raimundo is still alive," Kimiko said defiantly. The servant said nothing else. He turned and began to walk back across the Temple grounds. Then he simply vanished into thin air. The warriors stared after him.

"So what do we do?" Sampson asked.

"We ignore the warning," Omi replied, his eyes not moving from the spot where the servant had vanished.

"We have no choice," Kimiko sighed. "We can't let The Dark Queen or Wuya win."

"Does the Dark Queen know what happened to my brother?" Bethania asked quietly. There was doubt in her eyes for the first time.

"No," Kimiko said. She placed her hands on Bethania's shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "She's just trying to scare us into backing out. Bethania I promised you I'd find Rai alive and I'm not going to let you down."

The corners of Bethania's mouth twitched into a smile but she didn't look very hopeful.

**.:.:.:.**

Jack hovered above the Pedrosa household, watching.

"Two of them are gone," Jack said.

"_Who?"_ replied the voice in his head, sounded frightened.

"Bethania and Carlos I think," Jack replied.

"_If she gets her hands on any more of my family I'll kill her by myself,"_ the voice growled, furious.

**Very short I know, I'm sorry. I hope you liked it though. Remember to review please!**


	13. Bethania's Showdown

**It's been a very long time but here it is at last. I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 13**

**Bethania's Showdown**

The warriors once again found themselves out in the Temple training grounds, practicing their fighting skills. Omi was fussing over his seemingly perfect moves while Kimiko glared angrily at Sampson who was improving at an incredible rate and was getting most of Master Fung's attention. Clay minded his own business; he knew better than to get into Kimiko's way. Bethania meanwhile was wandering around the grounds further away from the training area.

She glanced up at the sky. It was a clear blue colour, blocked by a few small, fluffy clouds. Bethania sighed sadly. She was thinking about Brazil. She was thinking about her family. She was thinking about Carlos, Renaldo and Raimundo. Two of them were held prisoner and one was simply lost. She wasn't even sure if any of them were still alive. Deep down, she hated Master Fung and the other three warriors for sending Raimundo to war and causing so much suffering on her family but she knew they had no choice. They were going to war themselves when they were ready, regardless of what The Dark Queen said, and Kimiko was so determined to find Raimundo herself. But Bethania couldn't help but think of the image of her mother, weeping into her hands on the old sofa, in a dark room, in a house that used to be filled with bright, warm sunlight, in a country that used to be free.

Bethania sat down on the grass, her back leaning against the brick wall of the Xiaolin Temple. She couldn't see the training grounds now but she could faintly hear the warriors training. Then she heard another sound. Running footsteps. They were close by and they were ahead of her. It wasn't one of the warriors she knew that. Then she saw a dark shape ahead of her. It appeared a tall, black cat running on its hind legs, tail streaming out behind it. Then it turned its head and she saw it was a girl in a cat suit. The girl grinned viciously, showing pointed fangs and ran to the tall building the warriors called the vault. Bethania glanced behind her, in the direction of the warriors. When she turned back, the girl in the cat suit was already picking the lock on the vault. There was no time to get help. Bethania ran after her. The cat-girl hissed at her then disappeared into the building.

By the time Bethania reached the vault, panting, the floor in the centre was had already descended into darkness and the cat-girl was nowhere to be seen. Bethania looked around nervously, her heartbeat sounding deafening to her own ears. Then the cat-girl emerged from the hole in the centre of the room, three Shen Gong Wu in her hands.

"Get out of my way, girl," the cat-girl hissed.

"Put it back," Bethania whispered, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"Make me," the cat-girl said and a hideous, humorous grin stretched across her face. Bethania charged at the girl and raised her leg, bring it crashing down on the cat-girl's arms. Bethania wasn't much of a fighter and the cat-girl had suspected that, so she supposed the only reason she had managed to k nock all three Shen Gong Wu from the cat-girl's arms was that the cat-girl hadn't expected Bethania to attack and she had been caught off guard. The cat-girl scrabbled to recollect the Shen Gong Wu and Bethania caught hold of one at the same time. It glowed. Bethania's heart sank.

"Who the fuck are you?" the cat-girl asked.

"Bethania Pedrosa," Bethania replied, trying to sound braver than she actually was, making sure her eyes did not waver from the other girls' even for a second.

"Ahh, I see," the cat-girl said, grinning again. "Raimundo's sister. Well Bethania, I'm Katnappe and I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown." She must have seen through Bethania's disguise because her grin widened and she said, "You can always decline and let me win by default."

"Not in a million years," Bethania said fiercely.

"Suit yourself," Katnappe shrugged. "First person to reach the top of this vault wins." She grabbed the two remaining Shen Gong Wu; the Ruby of Ramsies and the Longi Kite. "You have the Longi Kite," Katnappe said, handing it over. "It lets you fly."

"Xiaolin Showdown."

The vault began to shake. Then it began to grow and Bethania stared up at it as she had done at the mountains. Ridges jutted out of the walls. The Shen Gong Wu, the Shard of Lightning, hovered on a platform just below the ceiling. Then everything was still.

"Oh god," groaned a voice from the doorway. Attracted by the showdown, the warriors had arrived too late.

"Gone Yi Tempai," Katnappe said.

"Longi Kite," Bethania said, unsure. She lifted off the ground with a squeal composed of terror and amazement. She began to soar upwards.

"She can't lose with that," Sampson said, a confident smile of his face.

"Just one problem," Kimiko said.

"What's that?" Sampson asked.

"Ruby of Ramsies!" Katnappe called.

"That," Kimiko sighed. A red aura enveloped Bethania and began to thrash her against the wall before pulling her back down to the ground. She screamed helplessly. Katnappe jumped from foothold to foothold with perfect agility, laughing. Bethania, released from the Ruby's grip, began to fly again. Katnappe watched her go. She let Bethania get inches away from the Shard of Lightning and allowed Omi to give a victorious cheer before pulling her back down to the ground again. Bethania screamed again, but this time it was with frustration. She stood with her feet pinned to the ground, blood trickling over her lips from her nose, staring up at Katnappe. Then she was freed again and she wasted no time in soaring upwards again. Katnappe watched her approach. She watched Bethania get inches away again and then took a great leap and snatched the Shard of Lightning almost right out of Bethania's fingertips.

"Mine," Katnappe smiled.

The scene returned to normal and Katnappe held all three Shen Gong Wu in her hands, an evil, victorious grin on her face, revealing her fangs. Bethania, wiped blood from her face with the back of her hand, wincing as she touched her nose.

"Later, losers," Katnappe giggled. "Longi Kite!" In one swift movement, Katnappe had left the vault and was soaring away into the distance.

"I'm so sorry," Bethania whispered. "I would have gotten help but by the time I had, she would have already gotten the Wu and gone."

"It's okay, you did your best," Kimiko said.

"What part of this is okay?" Sampson snapped, making Bethania cringe away from him. "We're low on Wu as it is. Now we've lost three more! At this rate, we're going to have nothing left!"

"There was nothing anyone could do, Bethania didn't have a choice," Kimiko argued back. "And I think she did quite well considering she's new to all of this."

Clay put an arm around Bethania's shoulders and led her out of the vault, across the grounds and into the Temple.

**.:.:.:.**

An hour later, Bethania approached the Xiaolin warriors as they silently ate their dinner at the kitchen table. She saw her plate waiting at her place at the table but she would leave it untouched. She had her packed bags in her hands.

"Where are you going?" Omi asked.

"I'm going back to Brazil. At first I was getting in your way and now I've lost you three Shen Gong Wu. I wanted to help you and find my brother but I realise there's nothing I can do," Bethania said.

"Yes there is!" Kimiko said but Bethania shook her head.

"There's not and you know it. You only let me come here in the first place because you felt sorry for me because everything's gone to shit for my family. For my whole country. I have to go before I cost you more Shen Gong Wu."

"There's nothing we can say that will make you stay is there?" Kimiko asked. Bethania shook her head again.

"Just...let me know if you hear any news about Rai."

"...I will," Kimiko promised.

**.:.:.:.**

Kimiko took Bethania back to Brazil with the Golden Tiger Claws and then hugged her tightly.

"I'll you again soon, yeah?" Kimiko said.

"Yeah," Bethania smiled, nodding. "You'd better."

Kimiko laughed and then said, "Look after yourself okay? And look after your family."

"I'll try," Bethania said sadly. Nearby, there was a gunshot and screams, making the two girls jump. "You should go," Bethania said. She watched Kimiko disappear into the vortex and then she watched it close up. Then she began to walk through the familiar streets home. She was caught completely off guard when a pair of hand s reached out from behind her, one covering her nose and mouth, the other wrapping securely around her waist before she vision blurred and she blacked out.

**Thanks for being so patient with my ridiculously slow updates and I hope you're all still enjoying reading this fanfiction. Don't forget to review, so I know that you still want to read more.**


	14. Britain Invaded

**To make up for the last chapter being sort and rather rushed, I have worked really hard on this chapter and tired to make it as long as possible- my way of apologising haha. I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 14**

**Britain Invaded**

The days began to drag by as the warriors spent every waking moment training, fighting for Shen Gong Wu (and usually losing) and then listening silently to the radio for news of what was happening in the war. The worst news yet came at eleven o'clock on a Tuesday morning as the warriors sat around the table eating a late breakfast.

"The Dark Queen- whoever she is, we still do not know- has sent her forces back into Britain to try and seize control," the reported on the radio said gravely. Sampson spat scrambled eggs back onto his plate making Kimiko cringe in disgust.

"So far the British troops have managed to hold The Dark Queen's army back but the battle still persists and the death toll is continually rising. It is currently at five hundred British soldiers dead," the reported continued.

"This happened _last night_?" Clay whispered. Sampson's face had gone grey and his eyes were unfocused.

"Hey kids, save some eggs for me!" Dojo said, slithering into the kitchen. He caught sight of their horrified faces and stopped dead. That was when he heard the reporter and his eyes widened.

"My...my parents...and my little sister..." Sampson said. He seemed to struggle just to string a few words together.

"They'll be okay, partner," Clay said in a failed attempt at a comforting word.

"No they won't!" Sampson suddenly yelled, making all three warriors and Dojo jump a little. "If they get in the way they're going to be slaughtered! I've got to help them!" He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over and he did so and it crashed to the floor, almost landing on Dojo who jumped back with a frightened yell. Sampson raced from the room.

"Sampson!" Kimiko shouted. She was the first to run after him, but she was closely followed Omi. Clay stooped to pick up Dojo and then ran after the others. They caught up with Sampson in the vault as he was getting ready to use the Golden Tiger Claws. Kimiko caught hold of the arm he held the Claws on and looked him straight in the eye.

"You need to think about this first Sampson," Kimiko said.

"No! There's no time! What if they're already dead?" Sampson cried in desperation. He tried to pull his arm away but Kimiko held onto it with both of her hands and tightened her grip.

"Sampson, listen to me. If we go there without thinking properly then _we_ could be the ones getting slaughtered. I'm not saying you can't go and save them, I'm just saying we at least need a plan in case we run into trouble on the way," Kimiko said softly. Sampson's arm relaxed and Kimiko released it. It dropped to his side and he hung his head. Then he nodded.

"I know...I'm sorry...I panicked," Sampson said quietly.

"It's perfectly understandable, partner," Clay said. "So what do you reckon we do?"

Kimiko chewed her lower lip as she thought hard about how they could manage to get into a country that was currently at war, pick up Sampson's family and then get back without any trouble. No, she told herself. There _will_ be trouble. They just had to avoid as much of it as possible and hope no one got seriously hurt.

Omi stepped forward and took the Tiger Claws off Sampson. Sampson let them go without a fuss. He didn't even raise his head and Omi, Kimiko and Clay all suspected he was crying and trying his best to hide it. For the first time ever, Kimiko felt sorry for Sampson, and guilty for the way she had treated him until now.

"This is what we're going to do," Omi said. The warriors looked at him. Sampson quickly wiped his eyes and then raised his head. He had indeed been crying. "We're going to use the Golden Tiger Claws to get there and then split up. Sampson and I will take the Golden Tiger Claws and search for his family and Kimiko, Clay and Dojo will act as a look out. If danger comes our way they act as a distraction and lure them away on Dojo."

"Shouldn't we give you a warning if danger _does_ come?" Clay said.

"This would have been so much easier of we had both the Mind Reader Conches. Then we could communicate with each other," Dojo said.

"Yes," Omi agreed. "But Jack Spicer had one and we _lost_ the other one when the war started."

Something clicked in Kimiko's head at that moment and then was gone within seconds. It was like flicking a switch to turn on a light and then the light bulb blows a fuse and goes out again. She twisted her fingers in her hands impatiently and tried to remember what she had just thought of but she knew it was gone. Besides, they had more important matters at hand than who had what Shen Gong Wu several years ago. And then another light went on in her head and she ran into the vault without a word, leaving the others to exchange puzzled glances. She emerged again with the Healing Hand of Dashi in her hands.

"Of course!" Omi cried.

"But who takes it?" Dojo asked.

"We'll just see what happens," Clay said.

"And for communication?" Sampson asked.

"Nothing we can do. We'll just have to make sure that if we find trouble, Clay, Dojo and I can keep it away from you for as long as possible," Kimiko said. They looked at each other gravely.

**.:.:.:.**

It was night time in Essex when the Xiaolin warriors arrived and the air was chilly. The world around them was a confusion of explosions, fires, gunshots and screams. Sampson ran his fingers through his blond hair and looked around at the devastation. Buildings had been reduced to rubble and people lay dead all over the ground. Sampson's eyes flicked back and forth between the bodies, checking each ones face- or what was left of their faces- for people he knew. Kimiko was suddenly reminded of Zhengzhou. How it had once been a busy city and was now a desolate wasteland. It had been coated in a layer of snow then, gracefully hiding the destruction from view but somehow making it seem lonelier. It had just been flat, empty land that seemed to go on forever.

Kimiko's hand went to the medallion she wore under her clothes every day. The feel of it against her chest gave her comfort and defiant hope.

"Let's do this," she said. They looked to Sampson to lead the way but Sampson had already gone a few paces and kneeled down beside the body of a young woman. She missing both legs and half of her face had been blown off, but what was left of her face was mysteriously intact and her brown hair was spread out across the blood stained ground. Her remaining eye was wide and staring, the effect of the last thing she had ever seen imprinted clearly on that side of her face.

"Who was she?" Clay asked.

"...My ex-girlfriend," Sampson said. "We were dating when we were in college. I was eighteen, she was seventeen...she cheated on me and I caught her in the fucking act. I never saw her since...nit until now...it's a miracle I even recognise her..." he reached out and placed the tip of his index finger gently on her eyelid, pulling it closed. Then he stood up and began to walk away. The other warriors glanced at each other and then followed him. Dojo was hiding from the noise and destruction under Clay's hat.

They walked in silence, occasionally pausing to listen for danger nearby, occasionally hiding from someone who looked like trouble. The Dark Queen's soldiers all wore long, black cloaks with hoods that hid their face. Their sleeves went right over their hands but they seemed to radiate some sort of terrible light. The warriors tried not to look at them for too long. It made you feel like you were going mad.

At last, they came to a street covered in craters and Sampson stopped. Three houses had been reduced to rubble and several others were burning.

"There," Sampson said, pointing to a house at the other end of the street. It was mercifully intact and it wasn't on fire but most of the small garden had been ripped up in some sort of explosion and a bush just beside it burned merrily.

"The Xiaolin Warriors were ordered to stay away from battle," said a sinister voice from behind them. The four of them pivoted to face a hooded figure standing behind them.

"Oh, we're not fighting," Kimiko said nervously. She forced a sweet smile onto her face.

"Yet you still came to the battle zone," the figure said. "This is the Dark Queen's territory."

"Not yet it's not!" Sampson yelled angrily, his fists clenched tightly by his side. "And it never will be!" He lunged forward and swung his fist at the figure but the figure raised his arm. His sleeve slipped down to his wrist, revealing his right hand which seemed to be composed entirely of ominous, solid light. He caught Sampson's fist and held it back. Sampson began to scream.

"What are you doing?" Omi demanded fearfully.

"This boy need to be taught respect," the Dark Queen's soldier said flatly.

"Let him go!" Kimiko cried as Sampson continued to scream helplessly. Tears of pain rolled freely down Sampson's pale cheeks and his face was contorted into a picture of pure agony.

"What are you?" Clay asked. He could feel Dojo quivering defensively under his hat.

"I am a faithful servant of the might Dark Queen and you will bow before her power or suffer the consequences," the soldier said. Omi ran at the soldier and spun around, his leg extended, aiming at the soldier's feet. His foot flew through the rippling material of the soldier's cloak and burning coldness and then came out the other side without hitting anything. Omi fell to the ground.

"Omi!" Kimiko yelled. Omi jumped to his feet but he did not attack again. He tried to return to his friends but when he put his weight on the leg he had tried to attack with, he collapsed to the ground again. That was when he noticed the blood seeping through his trousers. He rolled his pants leg up and Kimiko screamed in horror. There was a huge chunk missing from Omi's leg and blood pouring from the wound in an endless river. And all the while, Sampson went on screaming.

"We have to do something!" Clay said, his voice shaking.

"What can we do?" Kimiko asked. Omi lay on the ground, growing faint, in a gathering pool of his own blood. Then the soldier let go of Sampson and Sampson fell to his knees weakly. Kimiko ran to him.

"Sampson! Sampson what did he do?" Kimiko said. Sampson didn't reply. His eyes were vacant although he turned his head towards her; they seemed to be looking straight through her.

"Sampson?" Kimiko asked again, frightened. She glared up at the Dark Queen's servant. "What have you done?"

"I removed his strength," the soldier said simply.

"You did _what_?"

No one noticed Omi as he pulled something out of his the pocket of his robes until he gasped, "Healing Hand of Dashi!" A great, golden light surrounded Omi, seemingly conjured from the air itself. It circled Omi's form like an aura and then it was sucked into his wounded leg. It solidified and formed fresh meat where his leg had been torn open. All that was left that showed he had been injured was the blood that was now drying to a sticky maroon colour on his leg and a thin, faint scar where the piece of his leg had been missing moments before.

"The Dark Queen desires that object," the soldier said suddenly.

"Come and get it," Omi taunted, getting to his feet, holding the Healing Hand in his hand. He smiled in a way that reminded Kimiko and Clay hauntingly of Raimundo, and despite Sampson who was now slumped against Kimiko's shoulder, Kimiko smiled. The soldier went for Omi.

"Golden Tiger Claws!" Omi cried. He slashed at the air and vanished into the rip. It closed up behind him before the soldier could reach him. It opened up again further down the street and Omi had to shout to get the soldier's attention. The soldier went after him at an inhuman pace.

"Golden Tiger Claws!" Omi called again, when the soldier was just inches away. Omi reappeared at Kimiko's side.

"Quickly, before he gets back," Omi said hurriedly. Already the solider wasn't far off. "Golden Tiger Claws!" Omi said. He ripped open the vortex and the warriors piled through, Kimiko carrying Sampson. The hole closed when the soldier was just centimetres away and he screamed with rage. They had fooled him!

"Nice one li'l partner," Clay said.

"Where are we?" Kimiko whispered. They had landed on a carpet but the room around them was pitch black.

"Who's there?" a nervous, unfamiliar voice asked. A candle flickered into life and three people were visible in the flame's glow. One man, one woman and a teenage girl.

"Sammy?" the woman asked. Her hair was a mousy colour and it fell to her shoulders in greasy tangles.

"You're Sampson's family?" Clay asked.

"Yes, I'm Emma," the woman said. "This is my husband Carl and my daughter Victoria. What's happened to Sampson?"

"Do not fear Mrs Page," Omi said importantly. "Stand back please." He produced the Healing Hand of Dashi and called out its name. The golden light was drawn from nowhere and it lit up the whole room. It was a small, but neatly kept and well furnished living room. The curtains were pulled shut against the devastation outside, as if the Page family had hoped that they would be left alone if they stayed out of the way. Either that or they hoped the Dark Queen's forces would think the house was empty and its occupants were already dead.

The light surrounded Sampson, as it had Omi, and it seemed to flow around him like liquid gold. Then it melted into his flesh, absorbed and vanished. The room darkened again, lit only by the single candle flame. Sampson drew in a deep breath.

"Where am I?" Sampson's voice was shaky but he was definitely recovering.

"Sammy!" Emma Page cried with relief and threw her arms around her son.

"Mum?" Sampson asked. "You're alright!"

"No thanks to you," Sampson's sister Victoria said. There was a smile on her face.

"Shut up you little rat," Sampson grinned. Victoria laughed. Sampson got his feet and stuffed his hands into his pockets and winced. He pulled his right hand out again- the hand he had tried to punch the solder with- and brought it up to his eyes. The hand was burned.

"The Healing Hand should have fixed that," Clay said.

"That's no ordinary burn," Kimiko said.

"Well, obviously Kimiko," Omi said.

"It was so...cold," Sampson said quietly. He was still looking at his burned hand. He seemed to be in trance until he looked up again and smiled. "Never mind that now," he said.

"What are you all doing here? You could have been killed!" Carl Sampson said.

"So could you, that's why we're here. We're taking you to the Xiaolin Temple. You'll be safe there," Sampson said. "Go upstairs and pack, but we haven't got long so hurry!" His parents did what they were told without a word. His sister remained where he was.

"Why are they doing this?" she asked Sampson. "What's the point in this war?"

"Not now Vicky, go and pack some clothes," Sampson said, giving her a little push towards the door with his left hand. She went. The four warriors were left to wait in the dark. Except- although Sampson's parents had taken the only source of light upstairs with them- it _wasn't _dark. The room was illuminated every now and then by an explosion somewhere outside but that wasn't it. The room just seemed naturally lighter. And then it hit them.

"Oh god," Kimiko groaned. In the corner of the room stood three of the Dark Queen's soldiers, emitted their strange light.

"We warned you," the one in the middle said. This one had a strange, harsh female voice. Then she and the solider to her right came for the warriors while the one on her left- the one closest to the door- left the room and headed upstairs.

"No!" Sampson screamed. Guided by pure panic, he jumped onto the dining table and flipped right over the two remaining soldiers and sprinted out of the room and up the stairs. Kimiko, Clay and Omi were left with the other two.

"If you try to fight us, you will die. So surrender now and we will spare you," the female said.

"Not in millions of years," Omi said.

"Not in a million years," Kimiko corrected.

"I am begging your pardon?" Omi asked.

"I said not in a million...oh never mind," Kimiko said. She jumped onto the dining table as Sampson had done and called, "Wudai Mars, Fire!" Streams of fire shot from each of her fingers like puppet strings. With one hand she curled the fire around one of the soldiers life ropes and then she did the same to the other with her other hands. The fire held them in place for a few seconds and then they broke free, unscathed. Kimiko cursed.

"Wudai Crater, Earth!" Clay bellowed. The floor beneath then buckled and sent the whole couch hurtling at one of the soldiers. It passed straight through his stomach and crashed into the wall behind him, blazing. The fire reached upwards and set the curtains alight.

One of the soldiers went for Kimiko and flipped over them off the table as Sampson had done.

"Fire!" she screamed. Some of the firs from the burning couch and curtains spat itself at the soldier. It formed itself into a ring and landed around the solider, growing to ceiling height and trapping the hooded figure inside.

"Yes!" Kimiko said. The figure stepped easily the flames. "No," Kimiko groaned.

Omi did a backwards flip and landed on top of a tall bookcase.

"Wudai Neptune, Water!" he called. Water gushed from the palms of his hands, soaking everything in sight. The fires spluttered and died and the force of the current knocked warriors and soldiers alike into the wall. The window shattered and water poured out into the front garden. Then the water froze solid, pinning everyone in it to the spot.

"Omi, what are you doing?" Kimiko yelled.

"I didn't do anything!" Omi answered. The two soldiers walked through the ice towards Omi.

"So they're fire _and_ ice?" Kimiko said.

"Dojo!" clay suddenly shouted. Dojo was trapped beneath the ice, clinging to Clay's hat.

"Fire!" Kimiko gasped. Her hands were also trapped in the ice but she forced the fire forward. The ice began to melt, but very slowly.

**.:.:.:.**

Upstairs, Sampson being held off as the solder held his sister by the wrist. A blade made of thick, solid ice protruded from the hooded soldiers' long sleeve and was pressed against Victoria's throat. Sampson's mother and father stood behind him, weeping silently. Victoria was remaining calm, but her eyes were on Sampson, pleading.

"Please, just let her go," Sampson said. "She's only sixteen!"

"You and your friends need to leave and never set foot in a battle zone again," the soldier said.

"I...I can't promise you that," Sampson said. Victoria closed her eyes. The blade was pressed even closer to her flesh. One more little push and it would draw blood. Victoria moaned.

"Okay!" Sampson cried. "Okay I promise!"

"Do you know what happened to Raimundo Pedrosa?" the soldier asked suddenly. "The one you replaced?"

"He went missing," Sampson said uncertainly.

"He died," the soldier said. "There are a few chosen ones every century, each is supposed to teach the new ones when they are old enough. But for the past hundred years, the Dragon of the Wind has never lasted long. I saw Raimundo's last moments. He was caught right in the centre of an explosion. He never stood a chance." Sampson could almost feel the soldier grinning beneath the hood. "He was blown to pieces. It'll be your turn soon."

"Shut up!" Sampson yelled. "You lie!"

"You can believe what you want boy," the soldier said.

"Wind!" Sampson cried. Victoria screamed as a powerful gust of wind was hurled at them. The ice blade was knocked from the solder hand and he let go of Victoria to make a grab for it. Victoria wasted no time in jumping out of the wind's path and running past Sampson to where her parents stood.

The soldier raised his right arm and icy ropes flew from inside and lashed at Sampson like snakes. He dodged it the first time but on the second lunge they caught him across the chest and a burning pain seemed to explode from the place where he had been struck. Sampson shrieked with pain and Victoria screamed. Blood began to seep through Sampson's shirt. Once again his green eyes welled with tears of pain but he did his best to remain focused. The icy ropes made another lunge and Sampson threw himself out of the way. They went after him again and smashed into the wall, causing an alarming crack to run up the wall. They came after him again and he stretched his arms out.

"Wind!" he cried. The icy ropes were met by another gale of wind powerful enough to lift someone off their feet. The ice snapped and was thrown into the opposite wall where they knocked the television backwards off its stand. They fell to the carpet and melted. Then Sampson turned has open palms to the soldier who was thrown backwards. He crashed through the window and fell down to the garden. Sampson motioned to his family and then ran downstairs. They followed.

In the living room, Dojo had been freed from the ice but Kimiko and Clay remained trapped in it from the knees down. It was almost impossible to melt but Kimiko was giving it her best shot.

"What happened?" Kimiko shrieked when she saw the blood on Sampson's chest.

"Never mind," Sampson replied. "We have to get out of here now!"

"Earth to genius, we're _trapped_!" Kimiko screamed angrily. She screamed as a dining chair came hurtling in her direction. She ducked and it flew straight out of the window. Omi was desperately battling the other two servants.

"Golden Tiger Claws!" Omi called. He disappeared into the cortex and reappeared beside Sampson. He forced the Tiger Claws into Sampson's hand.

"Take your family back to the Temple. Take this with you," Omi said. He pushed the Healing Hand of Dashi in Sampson's other hand. "We'll be fine. Go." Sampson did as he was told.

"Oh for crying out loud, fire!" Kimiko cried. Another burst of fire escaped her hand and descended upon the ice around her and Clay. A few millimetres off the top melted but that was all and Kimiko screamed with frustration. Then Omi had an idea. He avoided a punch thrown by one of the soldiers.

"You will never melt all of that ice Kimiko. You are not strong enough, after all you are only a girl," Omi said. He sent a flood of water and both soldiers and they were swept backwards.

"What did you say?" Kimiko growled.

"You should stick with girly things like cooking. Oh yes, girls love cooking," Omi said. He yelled in pain as the female soldier hit him and he was knocked to the floor. Blood spilled from a wound in his arm but he seemed not to notice.

"I will kill you!" Kimiko yelled.

"Omi is this really the time to be mocking Kimiko?" Clay asked but Omi did not answer him.

"Girls were not meant for this sort of violence. You should be at home baking nice cake and making your hair pretty," Omi said.

"Are you saying my hair's not pretty?" Kimiko asked. There was silence. Even the two soldiers stopped to watch Omi.

"...Yes," Omi said and grinned.

"...I...will...KILL YOU!" Kimiko screamed at the top of her lungs. "FIRE!" Fire burst from her hands, engulfing her and Clay. Clay yelled with fright as the heat enveloped him and then he laughed as the ice around his legs began to melt rapidly.

"Well done li'l partner!" Clay cheered. Dojo supersized and swept the three warriors onto his back. He swooped through the broken window and up into the starry sky.

"We did it!" Kimiko exclaimed. "And I'm still going to kill you!" she growled at Omi.

"Relax Kimiko, he was just trying to make you angry so you'd lose your temper. Your fire power is always stronger when you're angry," Clay said.

"Oh..." Kimiko said. "I knew that."

**.:.:.:.**

When they arrived back at the Xiaolin Temple, Sampson was waiting anxiously for them in the Temple grounds with Master Fung. Sampson had healed the wound on his chest but he had not changed yet so his clothes were still soaked with drying blood.

"You're okay!" Sampson sighed with relief.

"Where's your family kid?" Dojo asked.

"They're resting," Sampson said.

"Well done young monks," Master Fung said gently. "You faced a great evil and triumphed."

"We did not triumph. We fled," Omi said quietly. He hung his head.

"Never the less, you fought and you survived. That means you are almost ready for war," Master Fung said. A silence followed and then Master Fung said, "And I would like to award Sampson with this." He produced a blue sash and handed it to Sampson. "You are now an Apprentice."

"Wow, well done partner," Clay grinned as Sampson took the sash from Master Fung. Omi cheered and jumped in the air.

"Congratulations," Kimiko said. But she did not meet Sampson's eyes. Then she went inside without looking at any of them. Sampson sighed.

**I hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to review! I'll update whenever possible.**


	15. Refugees

**It's fairly short but I hope you'll forgive me. I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 15**

**Refugees**

As Jack flew over the small town below on his helibot he reflected on what had happened in his life to get him here. He had been unappreciated by his mother right to the end. Well...her end. He had never known his father. He had always gotten in trouble at school. He had tried to stay out of trouble but he simply couldn't. Trouble seemed to follow him. He always got into fights (and lost) or got detention for forgetting or losing his homework and arguing with the teachers. His mother had taken him to a doctor and a psychiatrist to see if there was anything wrong with him but the doctor found nothing and after several sessions with the psychiatrist, he had concluded that Jack was simply just a trouble maker and nothing more.

Then he had found Wuya. Wuya had sort of improved his life. She had helped him on his way to ruling the world by introducing him to the Shen Gong Wu. But she was just using him and he knew that know. And then he had caved in to her and given her a body. And now his mother was dead, his dreams were shattered and he was now on the run taking orders from...one of _them_. What's more, he was always the one sent on food hunts. Food was difficult to come by in their current situation. It was hard to go out into society without fearing for your life. Anything could happen. You could get blown up or shot at and plus he was quite sure all of Wuya's followers knew she wanted him. Jack knew she wanted him so that she could kill him herself. Besides, there were so many of them that needed feeding. People were starving. Some had actually died. And with every death, Jack felt worse and worse. It was always his job to find food, his and a group of others, and these people were dying because they hadn't had enough to eat. One minute he was Jack Spicer; Evil Boy Genius, now he was Jack Spicer; Bringer of Food for the Starving Refugees of War. It was amazing how quickly life could change around you and quickly you adapted to it. Human instinct was what _he _had said. Humans can adapt to any situation no matter what the circumstances. Drop bombs on them, they build underground shelters. It was easy. Except it _wasn't._ The Xiaolin Warriors back in China hadn't adapted to the Dragon of the Wind's absence. Or at least Kimiko hadn't. They'd replaced him, sure, but Kimiko wasn't happy about it.

Jack looked down at the almost deserted streets. It was a warm night and most people were in bed, but here and there, soldiers paraded, harassing people who were still out. There was another risk; he had to make sure their situation wasn't discovered otherwise everything was over. They had nowhere else to go and a lot of the refugees and wounded warriors were too weak to move now. There was too much responsibility on Jack's shoulders and responsibility was something else he couldn't adapt to. He'd never had responsibilities. There was his responsibility to get the Shen Gong Wu for Wuya but even when he messed up them there wasn't much she could do to him- not then, anyway- and so even that wasn't too bad. But this time, if he messed up, people died. Hundreds of them. He wanted to rule the world. He wanted people to serve him. He didn't want to kill anyone. Not even the Xiaolin Warriors. _Especially _not the Xiaolin Warriors. He wanted them to see what he was capable of when he ruled the world. Jack didn't know what he wanted now. He was helping the good side. He kept telling himself he was doing it to defeat Wuya and The Dark Queen and then _he _could take over but he knew that was a lie. He was trying to lie to himself but it was impossible. You can lie to other people if you are good enough. You can't lie to yourself. All of this had happened because of two armies wanting to seize control of every living creature on Earth, just like he did, and millions of people had died all over the world. He couldn't do that himself. Plus, when he brought back a single loaf of bread, and saw it being shared amongst the refugees and when they thanked him, he got a strange feeling in his chest. It was a nice feeling, like a sort of warm glow. He had never felt it before but he eventually realised it was because he was _proud._ He was _happy_. He was helping people and it felt good. Jack Spicer was no Evil Boy Genius. He had wasted his life.

He landed lightly on the pavement in front of a closed shop and glanced around nervously. He felt like he was being watched but he always felt like that when he was a food hunt, because there was so much danger around him. From in the distance there was a gunshot and a scream and he flinched. Someone had been caught out at night and had not been able to give a good enough reason why. That people might be dead now. People who crept out of their houses at night were usually trying to run away. To escape. To flee the country if they could and few had succeeded. But still they tried. _He_ had told Jack that it was better to die trying to escape, or trying to _do_ something about the awful situation they were in, than it was to die doing nothing at all. That was the policy they lived by now. Cowards got left behind _he _said, because they are too scared to fight back. So they do what they are told and they will die anyways eventually. They will die in captivity. When _he _said that, Jack had thought back to when he was a little boy and his mother had taken him to the zoo and he had seen a gorilla. It was lying on its stomach in its too-small enclosure, resting its head in its big arms and gazing back through the thick glass at Jack with its beady little eyes. It looked bored. It looked sad. And it looked so human. It was trapped in there. It had no company and it couldn't go wherever it pleased because it was boxed in. It made Jack sad thinking about that, but it also made him more determined. Jack Spicer was a coward, but he was doing everything he could to change that.

There was no one around. At least not yet anyway, sooner or later and soldier would pass and if he was caught he would be taken back to Wuya and then he would know nothing else for eternity. She would take his life just as she had taken so many others. The shop was shuttered up and secure but Jack guessed the same thing could not be said for the back of the shop. He flew to the back with the help of his helibot and found he was right. The back door was locked but not shuttered. He pulled a hairpin from his pocket and began to pick the lock. He heard it click and he slowly pushed the door open. He glanced around nervously again and then went inside and closed the door behind him. He was enclosed in total darkness and he fumbled in another of his inside pockets until he found his torch. He clicked it on and shone it around the room. He was in the store room where there were shelves upon shelves of boxes, all labelled. He edged through the cramped room and pushed open the door that led to the shop floor. This was rather small as well but it was good enough. He trained his torch on the shelves. There were a couple of loaves of bread left and he took two. He jammed them into his pockets so his long coat bulged unusually but if he was lucky, no one would see. He went to the cooler and took a few bottles of water. He fit two into the two remaining pockets and carried the other two in his hands. He wasn't supposed to take too much because it would attract too much attention if shops were robbed every night. There would be more security around them and then food would be even harder to get hold of.

"_Any luck, Spicer?" the voice said in his head. _He hated that, it had made him think he was going mad before he'd worked out what it was. He couldn't even believe it had taken so long for him to even recognise the voice. He sometimes wondered if _he_ saw and listened to Jack's own thoughts in _his_ head and he hoped now. He didn't like the thought of that. Maybe _he_ didn't always keep the Conch with _him_.

"Yeah, I've got some bread and water," Jack thought back. He couldn't carry any more but he shone his torch along the shelves anyways. He could come back tomorrow night if there was anything else they could use. Then he changed his mind, seized a couple of candy bars and stuffed them into his pocket with the water.

"_Well, be careful getting back, Abi almost got caught."_

"I know, I know. I'm not stupid," Jack thought. He went back into the storeroom, closing the door to the shop floor carefully behind him.

"_Bring some of the water to me when you get back. I don't think Davi is going to last much longer if he doesn't get some soon."_

Davi was a six year old boy who had been left to wander the streets on his own for three days after his mother and father were shot down right in front of him. They had been trying to flee the country at night and were caught. Davi only survived because he had run. Jack supposed the soldiers had assumed he would die of starvation or something eventually so they hadn't gone after him and he had been left alone in the burning Brazilian heat without food or water until Abi had found him just last night and brought him back. They didn't have high hopes about his survival but they weren't giving up on him.

Jack emerged into the dark night again and shut the shop door. He took to the air and peeked over the roof of the shop, found the street empty and flew away as fast as he could towards the rainforest- the only part of Brazil not covered in Wuya's soldiers. At least for now.

When he landed he trudged past rows of small tents and refugees, sitting in the dirt and trying to survive. They watched him hopefully as he passed and he gave out as many reassuring smiles as possible. At least he hoped they were reassuring, the concept was new to him. He saw a mother cradling her crying child and he knelt down before them and produced one of the chocolate bars. He gave it to the crying boy and smiled.

"Little treat," Jack said to the boy, who looked at him with wide, grateful eyes that were bleared by tears. "We'll make it through this, I promise." The mother smiled weakly at Jack as the little boy's sobs began to taper off. Jack got to his feet again and continued on his way through the camp. He reached a tent at the end of a long row and a girl with dark slanted eyes and black hair pulled back in a long plait sat outside. She looked up at Jack when he approached and smiled.

"Hi Abi," Jack mumbled.

"You got back alright then," Abi said. She got to her feet. She was a head shorter than Jack but she still made him nervous. He had a moment to reflect on the fact that all girls he met where strong willed and could be quite vicious before she spoke again, "I'll just go and get him." She ducked into the tent. Jack waited for a few moments and the tent opened again. Before him- hands stuffed into his filthy jeans pockets, brown hair hanging loose to his shoulders and falling into his calm eyes as green as the leaves above them- stood Raimundo Pedrosa.

"No trouble?" Raimundo asked as Jack began unloading his pockets.

"No," Jack said. He handed over the food as Abi emerged from the tent again and stood beside Raimundo. Raimundo took one loaf of bread and one bottle of water and then gave the rest to Abi to disperse amongst as many of the refugees as possible. Then he motioned to Jack and went back inside the tent. Abi walked away to the starving families. Jack looked around and then followed Raimundo into to tent. It was only a two-man tent and there was only space to crawl. On the floor wrapped in a thin sheet lay a small, malnourished and sunburned boy with dark hair and eyes. His skin was dirty and his hair lay lank on his head. Raimundo uncapped the bottle of water.

"Come on, sweetheart," Raimundo said as he carefully put an arm around the boy's shoulders and gently raised him to a sitting position. He put the bottle to the boy's lips and allowed to take a few sips.

"Not too much, or you'll be sick," Raimundo said, replacing the lid of the bottle. The little boy, Davi, looked at Jack reproachfully and Jack felt a wave of pity and despair watch over him, and the guilt as he watched Raimundo rip up a slice of bread and feed it to Davi with such care that he could have been his own son. Raimundo was a good person, who did everything he could to help people. He had made mistakes; had nearly gotten all of his friends killed when he went to the Heylin side, but he had learned from those mistakes and he had been the one chosen to become Shoku Warrior. Jack was a bad person. He felt awkward even now because he did not know what to do or say, so he simply sat and watched as Raimundo fed the little starving Brazilian orphan, speaking softly to him in a language Jack presumed was Portuguese.

Raimundo gave Davi a few more sips of water and then lay him down again and tucked him up in the thing sheet that operated as a blanket. Then he motioned to the tent flap and Jack crawled out and got to his feet. Raimundo followed and zipped up the tent behind him.

"If we're lucky, he'll survive," Raimundo said. He took a swig from the water bottle and offered it to Jack. Jack, who had not liked sharing not too long ago, took the bottle and sipped the water greedily and then handed it back. Raimundo screwed the cap back on again. Then the two of them simply stood there and looked out at the camp.

"What are we going to do?" Jack asked after a few minutes.

"We're going to heal the wounded and then fight back," Raimundo said. There was an edge in his voice that Jack did not like. It was anger. And it was pity. And it was determination. "And we're not letting anyone else here, die." He went back into the tent and emerged with the loaf of bread and then marched off to feed the starving.

**I hope you liked it. I don't know when the next chapter will be up but it will definitely get written. Don't forget to review.**


	16. The Temple Invaded

**I can't believe I have 121 reviews for this story so far. I never thought it'd be this popular. I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, you have no idea how much I appreciate it, so thank you so much. I hope you like this chapter.**

**Chapter 16**

**The Temple Invaded**

Was that a voice? That was definitely a voice. Kimiko opened her eyes and glazed sleepily up at the ceiling of her so-called bedroom. She listened. She heard the voice again. Whispering. Probably just one of the others out of bed. She directed her eyes to the small window and saw that it was still pitch black outside. Probably just someone could sleep and they got up for a drink of water. Talking to Dojo maybe.

BANG

Kimiko sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide. That was _definitely _a bang. Maybe someone had just dropped something? Stop kidding yourself, girl, she scolded herself. That wasn't the sound of something being dropped, that was something being _blown up_. Then she heard a strangled cry. She scrambled out of bed, glanced at her tiny chest of drawers and decided getting dressed would take too long. This could be important. This _was_ important. Someone was here. She knew her dressing gown on over her nightgown and slipped on her slippers and then she pulled the curtains blocking off her bedroom open just a little, and peered out into the hallway. The passage outside her room was still and silent but when she looked across the room she could see Sampson, Omi and Clay peeking out through their curtains just as she was doing. There was another pained yelp and Kimiko knew for certain now; someone was here and they had gotten Dojo. The whispers must have come from outside of her window and the intruders crept around the building and the bang must have been the door being blown open. Kimiko caught the eyes of all three boys and they all nodded and retreated into the rooms without a word. Kimiko slipped out of her slippers and pulled on a pair of black Dr Marten boots she had been saving for a rather gothic looking dress she had been planning to wear. The boots were good for fighting. Then she threw open the doorway curtains fully and stepped out into the dark hallway, still dressed in her nightie and dressing gown. The boys were also in their pyjamas.

In single file they approached the door that led from the hallway to the entrance hall of the Temple and Omi pressed him ear against it, listening. Then he stepped back and pressed his finger to his lips and then got into a fighting stance. The others took the hint and copied. They stood there, as silent as possible for several seconds and then there was another bang and a bright green light glowed around the edges of the door, casting an odd glow across their faces. The light died. The door fell to the ground revealing eight of Wuya's soldiers accompanied by two of her rock monsters.

The soldiers stared at the Xiaolin Warriors for a moment, caught off guard, and then the one at the front, a woman with long silver hair, put her hands together and a ball of green light began to grow there. She threw it at the Warriors and they scattered. Omi threw his full weight against the wall next to him and bounced off it, heading for the warriors with his fists clenched and his foot out and it connected with the head of a man near the back of the group who fell sprawling to the ground. Sampson ducked under the ball of light, jumped to his feet again and punched the woman who had cast it on the nose, sending her reeling backwards, blood pouring from her nostrils. Kimiko flipped over the ball of light, did a sideways twirl in midair as she neared the floor again and kicked another female soldier under the chin, bringing her up into the air before crashing back to the floor on her back. Clay simply walked straight past the ball of light as he wasn't in its path and walked straight up to a male soldier and punched him in the jaw. The ball of light hit the back wall and went straight through with another loud bang that shook the floor. Bricks and plaster fell to the floor from the new hole in the wall.

Wuya's soldiers had been caught off guard, but now the surprise was over and they were recovering quickly. While the two rock monsters went around the Temple, aimlessly destroying ever inch of it, the soldiers picked themselves up and prepared to fight properly. The woman who had thrown the green ball of light- who was clearly the leader of this group- wiped her bleeding, probably broken, nose on her sleeve and kicked Sampson in the stomach. He bent over, winded and she seized his head on both of her hands and brought her knee into his face. There was a sick crunching noise and blood began to run from Sampson's own nose. She pushed him backwards into the wall where he slid to the floor, dazed. She swept her long silver hair out of her face and smirked down at Sampson, her blue eyes- so pale they were almost white- glinting cruelly.

"Alexis, behind you," one of the males said. The woman, Alexis, spun on the spot with her fist raised and it connected with the side of Omi's head as he dived at her. Omi was sent sailing through the air and collided with the wall.

Clay stamped his foot forcefully onto the floor and it began to shake. A crack appeared and stretched along until it reached three of the soldiers, then it began to widen. Before they realised what was happening, the widening crack had swallowed them. Then it began to close again. A hand reached up from under the Temple, just as the two halves of the crack snapped shut, leaving a thin scar where it had been. The hand spurted blood from the wrist and fell limp.

"You killed them!" Sampson cried, getting to his feet.

"We're in the middle of a war," Clay said gruffly. "Get your family and Master Fung and get to the vault. We need to get out of here." Sampson looked at Clay for a moment and then made a run for it.

Alexis hurled another ball of green light and it struck Kimiko in the shoulder. Kimiko was thrown backwards off her feet and landed hard on her back. She felt blood soaking through her dressing gown and the pain was torturous. Alexis approached her and placed a foot of Kimiko's wounded shoulder, pushing her back to the floor just as she was trying to get up. Kimiko moaned in pain.

"Wuya told me that if anyone was going to find that Raimundo Pedrosa, it would be you, because only really believe he's alive," Alexis said. Her voice was cold and cruel and her mouth was curled into an evil sneer as she pushed down on Kimiko's shoulder with more force and Kimiko suppressed a scream of pain, only allowing a whimper escape. "Wuya said that if you do find this Pedrosa boy, and you don't take him straight to her, she'll kill you."

"Why does she want him?" Kimiko choked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"That's none of your business little girl," Alexis said. At that moment, Omi flew through the air, his foot connected with Alexis' back and Alexis was thrown off Kimiko (after putting yet more pressure onto Kimiko's shoulder and this time Kimiko did scream) and landed on her front beside Kimiko. Kimiko jumped to her feet, trying to ignore the agony in her shoulder, but it throbbed every time she moved her arm.

"Try and get to the vault Kimiko," Omi instructed and Alexis got to her feet, her face a picture of rage, and prepared to fight again. Kimiko made it to the entrance of the Temple before she was confronted by a man with thinning, black hair, a long nose and a scarred face.

"Where are you going girlie?" he asked, smiling. Kimiko scowled. She brought up her fist but the man seized it before she could throw it at him and he pushed it back. Her shoulder screamed in agony again but she barely noticed as she was once again thrown to the floor. The man rested his foot on her chest and looked down at her curiously.

"Ain't you a pretty one?" he said. And with horror and disgust, Kimiko noticed that the man was eyeing her thighs where her dressing gown had parted and her nightie had slipped up a little. This brought her back to Earth, and it also returned her temper and she kicked at the man's other leg with all the force she could muster. The man lost his balance and fell sideways, throwing out his arms to try and find something to stop his fall and found nothing. Kimiko got to her feet and ran from the Temple, blood pounding in her ears and her temper threatening to overcome her and back her turn back around and make sure that man never saw another girl again. She got the vault and ran inside; Sampson and Master Fung were inside, with Dojo who was trying to stem the flow of blood coming from the end of his tail. She doubled up, panting.

"Where's-" Kimiko began, but Sampson answered the question before she had time to finish asking it.

"They're got my parents! And my _sister_! I couldn't stop them. I just got to them to try and fight and save them and then the guys that took them just took off. Teleported or something!" Sampson was beside himself with fury and panic.

"Where are Omi and Clay?" Master Fung asked.

"They're still fighting. They were quite far back and now they've got the whole lot of them to fight through. Omi told me to come here," Kimiko said. "But they should get here soon." Beside Master Fung was a brown sack filled with what remained of their Shen Gong Wu.

"We must leave as soon as possible," Master Fung said. Suddenly, there was a flash of green light that momentarily blinded them, and then two more of Wuya's soldiers were in the vault with them.

"What have you done with my parents?" Sampson screamed at them. He lunged at one of them and succeeded in tripping him up, but Sampson went down with him and the two of them rolled around on the floor, fists flying.

"Sampson!" Kimiko cried. She ran to help but the other soldier stood in her way and knocked her back with a punch. She managed to remain on her feet but she saw stars for a moment before her vision cleared. Master Fung was helping Sampson. Dojo was dragging the bag of Shen Gong Wu out of the vault, to safety, leaving a thin trail of dragon blood behind him. Kimiko tried to punch the soldier but he blocked her fist. While he did that, she raised her foot instead and landed a kick in the soldier's stomach. He stumbled backwards and doubled up, clutching his stomach. Kimiko kicked him again, this time in the head, and drove him backwards against the vault wall where he slid to the floor, unconscious.

**.:.:.:.**

Omi sent a wave of fast-flowing, heavy water at two of the soldiers and they were swept backwards with the current until they were backed up against the wall. Then another ball of water appeared above them and began to cascade down on them, like a waterfall. Whether they were crushed or drowned didn't matter, that fact was, after the water had stopped falling and instead lay in a pool, ankle deep on the Temple floor, they were dead. Clay had already disassembled the rock monsters, and now five of the original eight soldiers that had arrived were dead. Alexis was not among the dead, but she was not happy that her team had fallen to four wimps, barely into their twenties. She splashed through the flooded Temple corridor, past the bedrooms and threw a kick that hit Omi squarely in the forehead. He fell over backwards with a yelp and Alexis kicked him in the side, throwing him backwards again. This time he landed on his front and he put his hands out and pushed up off the ground when he landed, flipping himself into the air. He landed behind Alexis, shot a jet of water at her back with such force she was thrown into the laps of her two dead "team mates". Omi ran back down the corridor, kicking up water behind him. Clay joined him and together they ran from the Temple. Just as they exited, Kimiko ran past them, back into the Temple. Blood had now stained the entire left arm of her dressing gown but she didn't seem to notice anymore.

"Kimiko, where are you going?" Omi yelled. "I demand you get back here at once!" Kimiko ignored him.

"Come on, she'll be back," Clay said. He seized Omi by the wrist and ran to the vault. The two newcomers were both unconscious and Sampson looked on the verge of tears. The absence of his parents and sister told Omi and Clay what had happened so they didn't bother asking.

Kimiko returned to the vault several minutes later, drenched from head to foot, blood now trickling down her chin from a bust lip and her silky black hair now sopping wet and sticking to her face. Clutched tightly in her hand was a soaking wet Ninja Fred. Omi was about to shout at her, demand what she had been thinking, but then Kimiko hugged the bear to her chest and said, "I couldn't leave him." Omi suddenly felt a surge of pity for Kimiko and a wave of despair for Raimundo. He nodded. Then there was the sound of footsteps and furious shouts and they knew Alexis and the other two soldiers that were still alive were coming after them.

"We must go," Master Fung said. Dojo, still hanging onto the sack of Shen Gong Wu, supersized and the warriors, soaked to the skin, bloody and exhausted, scrambled onto his back along. Dojo flew out of the vault and straight over Alexis' head- who screamed with rage as she watched them go. Kimiko did something very unlady-like; she leaned over and spat on the man with the scarred face as they passed him. They Wuya's soldiers and the Temple itself were too small to see and Dojo soared through the clouds.

"Wuya has the Xiaolin Temple now," Master Fung said. Omi, Clay, Kimiko and Sampson looked at him sadly.

**.:.:.:.**

Dojo flew for a while, trying to find a place for them to stay, before he headed for a cave in the mountains. It was the same cave they had hidden from Mala Mala Jong in. The warriors climbed off his back and he shrunk back to his miniature form.

"This should do for now," Dojo said. He began inspecting his wounded tail again. It had stopped bleeding but it still looked sore. The cut was deep.

"What did they do to you partner?" Clay asked.

"I'd slept all day so I couldn't get back to sleep so I thought I'd go for a little walk and I saw them coming towards the Temple. I tried to go back to warn you but that girl with the silver hair-"

"Alexis," Omi said. "Her name is Alexis."

"Yeah, her. She stood on me and she picked me up and then get this little knife out and she cut me and she said that if I made a sound she'd do that again, only here," Dojo drew his finger across his throat and gulped.

"Poor Dojo," Kimiko said softly. She stroked Dojo's head. Her shoulder still hurt but the pain had dulled a little and the bleeding had stopped. Master Fung and Sampson had left the cave and they returned now with a pile of logs and sticks, which they leaped on the ground.

"Kimiko, if you would kindly to the honours," Master Fung said. Kimiko kneeled next to the wood and created a fire. Once it was going, they all sat around it in silence for half an hour.

"They took my family," Sampson said at last. He was gazing into the fire, and the fire was reflected twice in his green eyes, making him look angry. He was angry, but his expression was that of only sadness. "Do you think they've killed them?"

"I do not," Master Fung said. The Xiaolin Warriors looked at him. "I believe they will be kept alive as a sort of bait. To lure you in."

"Oh, god," Sampson groaned. "Vicky's only sixteen."

"Do not fear, Sampson. We will rescue them," Omi promised. Kimiko looked at Omi and then her eyes were drawn to something on the wall behind him. A piece of paper had been stuck to the wall. It looked old but she knew it had not been there the last time they had visited the cave, so many years ago. She got to her feet and went to it. She pried it off the wall, glanced at it and gasped.

"What is it?" Clay asked. Kimiko went back to the fire and kneeled beside it and then she began to read what was written on the paper aloud.

_Dear Kimiko, Omi, Clay, Dojo and Master Fung,_

_I'm not sure if you'll ever get this letter but I hope you find it eventually, if I have not already returned. I am hiding in this cave until my strength returns. I was injured in the Zhengzhou battle and was captured by one of the Dark Queen's warriors, whatever they are. However, the Dark Queen thought I was going to die and so she left me to do just that. I was found by a girl called Abi Linn, who is here with me now as I write this, and she is also a nurse. I want to return to the Temple so badly to see you all but I have heard that Wuya is after me and if I see you I might put you all in danger. Abi and I are going to go back to old battlegrounds and find others who have been injured fighting and those who have been rendered homeless by the war. We're going to form our own army and fight again, and eventually, I will get back to you. I promise. But first I need to help put an end to this pathetic war. I miss you._

_Raimundo_

The handwriting was messy and difficult to read in some places but Kimiko managed it and by the end of it, her heart was racing.

"Kimiko," Clay said slowly. "The battle in Zhengzhou was in 2007, that was years ago. This letter is old. It doesn't mean Raimundo's still alive."

"No," Kimiko said, one hand curling around Ninja Fred's arm. "But it means there's more of a chance that he is. He survived the battles."

"He survived long enough to write the letter. But he doesn't say _how_ he was injured and he didn't say he had completely recovered. He was hiding out in a cave with nurse. He still could have died," Clay said.

"But is he had, this letter would be pointless so surely Abi would have taken it down, or wrote another one explaining that he had died," Kimiko argued. "Why are you so determined to make me think Raimundo is dead?"

"I I just don't want you to get your hopes up just to get hurt again," Clay said.

"Well thank you for your concern Clay, but I've told you, I'm _not_ giving up on him!" Kimiko said. Her expression was full of determination and hope and Clay could not bring himself to argue back. He simply nodded.

Two hours later, Omi, Clay, Sampson, Master Fung and Dojo were all fast asleep on the cave floor. Sampson had remained awake a little longer than the others, worrying about his family and Kimiko, temporarily forgetting her dislike of him due to how sorry she felt for him, had tried to comfort him, promising him they'd find his family, until he had fallen asleep as well. Now Kimiko sat with her back against the smoothest piece of the rock wall she could find- which was still very uncomfortable- and had re-read Raimundo's letter so many times she now knew it almost off by heart. And each time she reached the end and read _"I miss you"_ her heart ached terribly and tears spilled down her cheeks. She hugged Ninja Fred to her chest and wept onto him, trying not to wake the others.

**I hope you liked it. Thank you again for all the encouraging reviews, and don't forget to review this chapter. I'll update as soon as I can.**


	17. On the Run

**It didn't take me too long to write most of this and it's three in the morning so sorry if the spelling is really bad or some of it doesn't make sense, I tried my best. I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 17**

**On the Run**

Just two days had passed since Wuya's forces had seized the Xiaolin Temple but to the Xiaolin Warriors, who were now forced to move around in secret, it had seemed like weeks. Wuya had wanted them all captured during the invasion of the Temple and all her soldiers had managed to do was capture Sampson's parents and little sister. She was still using this as an advantage- sure that Sampson would come after them and then she would take him as well, although she wasn't too concerned about him either. He was new and useless- not much of a threat. It was the others she wanted. The ones with experience in fighting against her. And so she now had soldiers searching for them around the clock while she herself sat in the ruined Xiaolin Temple.

The warriors had now set up camp in the ruins of Zhengzhou. They had stolen tents from another part of China and they moved to a different location every day to avoid being caught. Being the only girl, Kimiko had been allowed a tent to herself. Kimiko sat in the entrance to her tent as the sun was rising. They had also taken clean clothes from the shops but Kimiko sat wrapped up in her bloodstained dressing gown, Ninja Fred clutched to her chest, watching the sunrise. It was supposed to be beautiful- the dawn- but right now it was ugly. Because the world was ugly. And empty. And cold. The snow that had concealed this wasteland in winter had done the place justice, because now that it was all on display, Kimiko wanted nothing more than to run from it. There wasn't a single building left standing and all around were ruins and decomposing bodies. The place stank of decay but the view alone made Kimiko feel sick. How could someone cause all this destruction and not care? It was hard to believe she had stood above this mess in the thick layer of snow. She couldn't wait until they moved on again, until they were away from this awful, silent place.

Raimundo's old letter was folded up in her pocket, she had no need to read it now, she knew all the words, but she liked to anyway. It was Raimundo's writing and it gave her hope. She put her hand to her chest where the medallion usually hung and her heart suddenly dropped. She had taken it off before bed on the night the Temple was attacked. She had brought Ninja Fred from the Temple but she had forgotten the medallion. She rested her head in one hand and closed her eyes. How could she be so stupid?

"Stupid," she muttered to herself.

"Sorry?" said a voice to her left, startling her. She looked up and saw Sampson approaching.

"What are you doing?" Kimiko asked.

"I was just having a look around. I couldn't sleep with all this around me," Sampson said, holding his arms out to the sides, indicating the destruction around them.

"Yeah, me either," Kimiko sighed.

"Can I...?" Sampson asked, indicating the ground next to Kimiko.

"May as well," Kimiko shrugged. Sampson sat down beside her and hugged his knees. Together they gazed out into the distance as the Sun rose higher in the sky, spilling weak, morning light onto the Earth.

"Are you worried about your family?" Kimiko asked after a few minutes. She glanced sideways as Sampson and saw him nod. He didn't take his eyes off the horizon beyond the destruction as he did it. "We'll get them back," Kimiko said. She thought for a moment and then added, "Alive." Sampson nodded again and then silence fell once again.

"...What was stupid?" Sampson asked.

"Beg your pardon?" Kimiko asked.

"When I came over you were talking to yourself. You said "stupid"."

"Oh...I left Raimundo's medallion in the Temple," Kimiko sighed. "I went back for his teddy bear and I completely forgot about his medallion. All of his other stuff is back there too. It's all we have left of him and I've left it in the Temple that's now owned by _Wuya_...If the Temple is still there." Kimiko was getting angrier as she spoke, but her anger was just a cover up of her sorrow.

"He's not dead, Kimiko," Sampson said. "I don't think he is."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better. Trust me; I don't need pity from you."

"I'm not pitying you. I'm being honest. If he was dead, someone would have found a body and someone would have mentioned it to someone else. He's a Xiaolin Warrior, word of his death _would_ have gotten out. If he was dead, we'd know."

"That's what I thought too," Kimiko said. "I just wish the others thought like that."

"We'll find him," Sampson nodded with certainty. "We have too."

"Why?"

"Because I think you like him more than you realise."

Kimiko looked at Sampson and he looked back. She could see herself reflected in his light green eyes as the morning Sun become warmer and birds began to twitter around them as they nested in the wreckage.

"I'm sorry for the way I've treated you Sampson," Kimiko said quietly.

"Don't worry about it. I understand," Sampson shrugged, smiling slightly.

"No, I mean it," Kimiko pressed. "It's not you that I don't like. You're nice. You really are. And you're good as well, you're learning a lot faster than any of us did and you're strong. It's just...accepting that Raimundo's been replaced would be like accepting that he's not coming back...I can't do that." Tears were glistening in her ocean blue eyes but they did not fall.

"Trust me Kimiko, I don't take it personally. I didn't know Raimundo but I understand what he meant to you. I've lost people, I know what you're going through," Sampson said. Kimiko smiled weakly and said, "You're too nice for your own good, you know."

"We're in the middle of a war. If you can't get on with the people on your own side, then what's the point?" Sampson replied and Kimiko suddenly felt guilty for the way she had treated him ever since he had arrived at the Xiaolin Temple.

"Thank you," Kimiko said. They sat in silence for the rest of the sunrise, until the other warriors were up and it was time to cook breakfast on a fire created by Kimiko.

**.:.:.:.**

Raimundo sat in the tent next to the malnourished, sleeping form of little Davi. He was getting better, now that he had food and water (for now) but Raimundo still wasn't sure he was going to make it. He was just a little boy and he had suffered a lot. Sometime the boy would wake up screaming from a nightmare, other times he would hardly move at all and Raimundo would have to check he was breathing. Sometimes Raimundo would leave the tent and expect to come back and find the boy had died. Davi had lost his parents and now Raimundo was looking after him and the thought had occurred to him on more than one occasion that he was sort of like Davi's foster father.

Now Raimundo sat on the canvas floor of the tent, listening to the leaves rustling as the rain ran off them and pattered down on the tent's canvas roof. There was no sound apart from that rain. All of the refugees were sheltering in their own tents and Jack and Abi and several others were off searching for more food. Raimundo himself had not eaten for two days and his stomach rumbled loudly in the quiet interior of the tent but he barely noticed. He was thinking back to the days in the Xiaolin Temple when he never had to worry about food. He'd just get up in the mornings, go to the kitchen and help cook breakfast. They'd all eat greedily and then it would be time for chores. After chores it was training and then it was dinnertime and he'd help cook dinner. Then they'd train a little more and then they were allowed the rest of the day to themselves if there were no activating Shen Gong Wu. He wondered how many Shen Gong Wu had activated in his absence. He wondered if any of the remaining warriors believed he was still alive. It was dangerous to try and get and touch with them. He could put them in danger, or he could put himself and this whole camp- which consisted of over two hundred people as far as Raimundo was aware- in danger. He wondered if he had been replaced and felt a grotesque sickly turn in his stomach that he recognised after a few seconds as jealousy. _He_ was the Xiaolin Dragon of the Wind. They couldn't replace him. Could they? What if they did replace him and this replacement was better than him and they didn't want him back? What if they didn't even think about him anymore? They'd forgotten about him because they'd found someone better. He shook his head a little. _Get it together, Pedrosa_, he told himself sharply. _You haven't got time to worry about stupid things like that. Worry about getting out of this war alive first._ He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind but he knew they'd resurface again soon. He looked back down at Davi, and brushed a lock of the boy's hair off his forehead. He then began to think about what would happen in Davi died and his stomach did another unpleasant somersault. He didn't think it was guilt at the thought of not being good enough to keep the child alive and it wasn't worry at it would look like to the rest of the camp if their leader couldn't keep one small boy alive. It was genuine care for the boy and Raimundo realised with a jolt that he had begun to fall in love with the boy, as if he were his own son. And why not? Davi didn't have any parents did he? And so there he was, back to the beginning of his train of thought. He was convinced he was going to go insane if he was left with his own thoughts for much longer. He already felt inadequate as a leader, when he thought back to when he had turned to the Heylin side for his own selfish reasons and almost gotten his friends killed, and when he had disobeyed orders and when back to the Xiaolin Temple to fight Mala Mala Jong and out them all in danger for a second time. He didn't even think he was cut-out to be Shoku Warrior, or that he had been strong enough to be sent to war. He was just a failure who had somehow faked his way this far in life. And look where it had gotten him.

To Raimundo's relief the tent opened at that point and Abi Linn crawled in and at opposite him, on Davi's other side. Her long plait hung over one shoulder and she gazed down at the boy with her fierce yet somehow kind brown eyes. Then she looked back at Raimundo.

"We got more water but...we lost some of it," she said. Raimundo realised she was shaking slightly and she was out of breath. Her voice shook slightly as she spoke.

"Abi, what happened?" Raimundo asked urgently.

"Jenny, one of the ones from the British army, Jenny Telford. She got caught. We...I...I couldn't help her. They killed her. She's dead. They nearly saw me because I was going to go back and try and save her but then I realised that if they saw me they'd either kill me as well or I'd lead them back here and then they'd kill everyone here. So I ran... I left her," Abi wiped away the tears that began to roll silently down her cheeks. Raimundo had never seen Abi cry and he was momentarily shocked by it.

"It wasn't your fault Abi," he said when he had recovered. "You did the right thing. It's _awful_ but...it's better that just one person died than the whole camp getting found. God knows how many would die then. A lot of them aren't strong enough to even walk yet."

"Are we even getting anywhere?" Abi asked suddenly, and her despair had given way to anger. "We've been here for months now, thirty-two people have died since we got here. I've kept count. Thirty-two people, Raimundo. Who's getting better? Where's the good news?" It was as if she had been reading his thoughts and knew he was no more up to the job of healing the wounded, starving and homeless and fighting back again than poor little six year old Davi was. Then he was suddenly angry too.

"Did you expect everyone to magically get better as soon as we brought them here?" he snapped. "Did you think we'd have all the food and water we wanted and it'd be like the war didn't exist for us? What part of this isn't living up to your expectations Abi?" Abi looked startled but her brow was furrowed and her angry expression made him suddenly think of Kimiko and his stomach lurched again, somehow making him feel sicker than anything else had. But before Abi could retort he said, "If you must know, Davi is getting better." Abi closed her mouth again and looked back down at Davi who had stirred slightly at the sound of their arguing voices but now he was still again as he slept on. Suddenly Raimundo thought bizarrely, _"We'd be having more luck if I'd have taken Ninja Fred with me."_ And suddenly he was homesick. Not for the Xiaolin Temple but for his family. His parents and his brothers and sisters. he hadn't really thought about them and he cursed himself now. How could he forget his own family? _"We're in a war now kid. It fucks with your mind,"_ he told himself. He rested his face in his hands and Abi watched him, silently.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It's just...it's hard to take in. It's been going on for years but it still feels like I'm going to wake up at any moment and I'll be in bed at home and it'll just have been a dream."

"I know the feeling," Raimundo mumbled from between his fingers. Abi crawled around Davi and sat next to Raimundo in the tiny tent and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I just wish this was over," she whispered.

"Me too," Raimundo replied.

**.:.:.:.**

They had walked quite far that day and they were all exhausted. Kimiko and Sampson hadn't spoken since that morning. Kimiko hadn't spoken much to anyone. She just trudged on, with her tent on her back and Ninja Fred clutched in her hand.

"I don't see why we can't just fly," Clay said, who had already lost a considerable amount of weight.

"If we go flying through the air on a green dragon, we're going to be noticed instantly," Sampson grumbled.

"Sampson is correct," Omi nodded. Omi's feet were beginning to ache from so much walking but he kept his pains to himself, not wanting to show weakness. Right now, just about anything could lower their morale, and it was already dangerously low as it was. They had lost their Shoku Warrior, then they had lost most of their Shen Gong Wu and now they had lost the Xiaolin Temple. It wasn't looking good. The most dumped in the downs was Kimiko it seemed. She hadn't said a thing all day and she kept her focus mostly on her own feet as they struggled on, searching for another place to camp for the night where they wouldn't be found. He had considered talking to her but decided against it; he'd noticed he had a habit of annoying her more when he was trying to help. It was slightly upsetting- the fact that he was just trying to help her and instead she got angrier, but it was just the way she was and Omi accepted that. Sampson had been rather quiet as well but Omi guessed he was just thinking about his parents and his little sister. On more than one occasion he had found himself worrying about Master Fung as well. All this stress and the constant walking wasn't good for a man as old as Master Fung.

They had stopped only once for dinner but that was hours ago and now the Sun was beginning to sink back into the horizon, stealing the light from the day. They were walking past a mountain now and they found a small cave tucked away at the bottom. After Master Fung had declared that it was safe- that he didn't think the cave was about to collapse on their heads- they set up their tents inside it. Then they all sat in silence for about an hour before Clay went to the tent he shared with Omi and Sampson and Omi followed just ten minutes later. Dojo and Master Fung went to the tent they shared and just Kimiko and Sampson were left alone.

"What are you thinking about?" Sampson asked in a low voice, so that the others couldn't eavesdrop on them.

"The medallion," Kimiko said simply.

"If you go back you'll die," Sampson said.

"I won't. She won't want me dead. She won't want any of us dead. She'll want us to see the destruction she's capable of. She'll want us to watch her torturing innocent people we were too weak to save," Kimiko said bitterly.

"And if you go back you'll be helping her achieve that," Sampson said.

"I never said I was going back," Kimiko replied.

"You were thinking it. I can tell."

"What about you? You want to go back and find your family don't you?"

"Of course I do, but I know I'd be stupid to try. I'm not strong enough on my own."

"None of us are strong enough," Kimiko said in a flat voice. "We're losing." And then she got up and went to her tent. Sampson watched her go until she had zipped up the flap of the tent and disappeared from sight. He sat on his own for a few minutes and then went to his own tent.

Kimiko lay awake in her tent for several hours, listening to Clay's snores, until she was sure everyone was asleep. Then she got out of her tent and crept towards Master Fung and Dojo's tent. It was left unzipped and she could see that the pair of them were sound asleep. The bag containing the Shen Gong Wu was in the far corner, beside Dojo and she crawled inside, praying that she didn't make a sound and neither of them would wake up. She reached the sack and pulled it open. On top of the small pile of Shen Gong Wu they owned were the Golden Tiger Claws and she picked them out and crawled backwards out of the tent, holding her breath. When she was back outside of the tent she got to her feet and went quickly and quietly to the entrance to the cave. She looked behind her at the three tents and then said, "Golden Tiger Claws," under her breath. She tore at the air and ripped open the swirling grey vortex. Then she jumped inside and next thing she knew she was standing just outside the entrance to the Xiaolin Temple. And it was a wreck. The windows were broken and the front double doors were hanging off their hinges. It was no longer flooded but there were watermarks on the walls were the water had been. The furniture was smashed and broken and burned and in several places there were holes in the walls that made Kimiko think of the green ball of Heylin light Alexis had thrown that had gone straight through the wall. It was impossible to think that a ball of light could be dangerous but Kimiko had proof on her own shoulder. The wound had almost healed now but it was ugly and it was clear to see how serious the injury had been.

Kimiko tiptoed through the Temple, wondering where everyone was and hoping that, no matter where they were, they wouldn't ever know she had been here. She thought randomly of Raimundo returning the Temple when he shouldn't have done, to fight Mala Mala Jong and putting them all in danger and prayed even more that she wouldn't be caught. What would happen if she was? What would they do to her? Her heart was pounding in her chest and she had the sickening feeling that she was being watched. She glanced over her shoulder and saw only the destroyed Temple corridor. She reached Raimundo's room- the one she had moved into to make room for Sampson- and kneeled down next to the mattress, suddenly grateful to herself for not keeping the medallion on the bedside table. The room had been ransacked. The bedside table lay on its side and its contents were strewn across the small floor space as were the clothes that had been kept in the tiny little chest of drawers. The bed sheets had been ripped off the bed and torn apart but the mattress itself had not been moved. Kimiko lifted up and corner and there it was; Raimundo's beloved medallion. Hidden away like a secret thing. Kimiko picked it up and hung it around her neck, tucking it down the front of her t-shirt.

"Well, well, well. What have we got here?" said a cool, cruel voice from the doorway that made Kimiko's blood freeze as cold terror washed over her. She slowly turned her head towards the doorway and saw three people stood there; the scarred-faced man, Alexis and Wuya herself. All three of them were grinning unpleasantly.

"And they don't even know you're here do they?"Wuya asked. "This should be fun."

Kimiko tried to get to her feet but couldn't. All of her strength had left her and she was sure that if she ever got away from these three demons in Raimundo's room she probably wouldn't last long anyway, after what they might do to her. Wuya clicked her fingers and ropes of pure green light formed around Kimiko's wrists and ankles and burned her skin. That was when she began to shriek.

"Ty, you can carry her. Take her to the palace," Wuya said. The scarred man, Ty, grinned threateningly and approached Kimiko.

"Don't you dare touch me," Kimiko warned, her voice not quite steady. "I mean it. If you do I'll...I'll bite you!"

"Feisty, aren't you?" Ty laughed. He picked Kimiko up and carried her way a groom would carry his new bride to their honeymoon suite and she began to shriek louder.

"Put me down!" Kimiko screamed. She tried to kick her legs but the light ropes burned her ankles when she tried to move them.

"No one will hear you here, Kimiko," Wuya smiled. She turned and left the Temple and Alexis and Ty followed with Kimiko still screaming in Ty's arms.

**I hope you liked it and yes, I did get Raimundo's little rant/outburst at Abi about the war from **_**Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1**_**. Don't forget to review!**


	18. Torture

**Half one in the morning and I should actually be writing an essay but never mind, here's chapter 18. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 18**

**Torture**

Omi knew something was wrong as soon as he woke up. He could sense it and he was never wrong. Clay and Sampson were still asleep but he could hear whispers outside of the tent and recognised Master Fung and Dojo's voices. He crept out of the tent and watched them for a moment before announcing his presence. Master Fung regarded Omi with grave eyes and beyond him, Omi could see Kimiko's tent standing empty. He didn't need to situation explained to him. He didn't know why Kimiko had gone; he just knew that she had. Omi returned his gaze to Master Fung and Master Fung bowed his head slightly, as if he had read Omi's thoughts and was now confirming what Omi already knew.

"She's taken the Golden Tiger Claws," Master Fung said.

"Why would she leave?" Omi asked.

"She left Raimundo's medallion in the Temple," Sampson said from behind Omi. Omi turned and saw Sampson standing in front of the entrance to their tent. Clay was still asleep, but Sampson looking wide awake, with his hands stuffed into his pockets and his hair sticking up at odd angles from sleep. "I should have known she'd go. I should have stayed awake to stop her. I told her it would be a bad idea to go back and I thought she wouldn't but..." he trailed off, his eyes resting sadly on Kimiko's open, empty tent. "What do we do?" Omi was temporarily struck by surprise. For a moment he had forgotten that this was Sampson, not Raimundo, and he had expected Sampson to have an outburst and insist they go after Kimiko straight away. Instead, he seemed worried and a little frightened, but he was keeping calm and waiting to be told what the best plan of action was. Omi cursed himself for the stupid mistake and then pushed it to one side.

"There is nothing we can do. I fear she may have been captured if she had indeed returned to the Xiaolin Temple," Master Fung said. "But we cannot leave her. I think we should go back to the Temple to investigate. If she is there we will bring her back immediately, if there are any signs of trouble we must leave immediately. If she has been captured we may have to leave her for a while and hope they keep her alive. We are not strong enough, or prepared enough, to break through Wuya's forces to save her."

"If we leave her...she might die," Dojo said. He didn't usually argue against Master Fung's plans but the worry for Kimiko was too overwhelming for him. They had already lost Raimundo.

"If we try to rescue her straight from the clutches of Wuya's forces, we might all die," Master Fung said. An invisible heavy blanket seemed to fall from the roof of the little cave, covering them all in plain, cold, realisation. Realisation for what was going on around them. People were dying every day, fighting this war and now two Xiaolin Warriors were gone. And their chances of winning were already outnumbered; there were three forces fighting each other, but two of those forces wanting to rule the world. It was two against one.

"Hey, what's going on?" said a voice from behind them. Clay was awake.

**.:.:.:.**

"Why did you go back to the Temple alone?" Wuya asked. She paced up and down outside of the bars at the front of Kimiko's cell. Kimiko watched her, her eyes following Wuya's progress with her arms folded across her chest. It looked like a protective posture; shielding herself from Wuya, but really it was stubbornness. She was not about to tell Wuya anything Wuya could use.

"Speak to me, girl," Wuya said. She stopped pacing and glared at Kimiko through the bars. Kimiko didn't move. There was no bed in the cell, just a thin sheet on the floor and Kimiko sat on this, her eyes fixed on Wuya, her mouth firmly shut. And there was a gleam in her eyes Wuya didn't like much; it was humour. Like the girl was _mocking_ her. She was enjoying Wuya's frustration. And that made her angrier. Almost as if Kimiko had read these thoughts, the corners of her mouth lifted in a small smile.

"What are you smiling at?" Wuya snapped.

"Does having a body make anything easier, Wuya?" Kimiko asked. "Because you seem just as angry. And now you can't do that weird creepy shit where you go inside my head to find out what I'm thinking like you did with Rai."

"I don't need to. I can find out another way," Wuya said, and this time it was her turn to smile. "I'll have you screaming in pain for the rest of your miserable life if I want to. I can put you in so much pain you'll actually _beg_ me to end your miserable life."

"But I'll never talk," Kimiko said defiantly. Her face was set and Wuya knew if she was going to get anything out of her, it'd take a _lot_ of pain. But then Kimiko spoke again. "Although," she said. "If you let me go, I'll tell you where Raimundo and Jack are."

"You don't know where they are," Wuya said, but there was a flicker of uncertainty in her evil eyes.

"Oh, don't I? How can you be sure?" Kimiko asked. Wuya wrapped her hands around the bars of the cell, so it almost looked like she was the prisoner and Kimiko was her captor.

"Don't mess with me, girl," Wuya growled viciously.

"You know what's funny?" Kimiko said suddenly, this time a full grin growing on her face. "A few years ago you would have gone straight through them bars. You would have been unbeatable because you can't touch ghosts. You get everyone to do your dirty work anyway. Why did you want a body?" And to Wuya's disbelief, Kimiko began to laugh. She actually laughed so hard that tears welled in her ocean blue eyes and rolled won her pale cheeks.

"You're pathetic!" Kimiko choked through her laughter. "You don't even know what you're doing! You haven't got a _clue_! How many times have you tried this trying to take over the world business? And how many times have you failed?" Kimiko stopped laughing almost as suddenly as she had started and wiped the tears from her face. Then she gazed at Wuya with an expression of deadly seriousness. "You'll fail again. And this time you won't come back as a ghost. I'll make sure of it. I'll make sure you're as dead as all those poor people you've slaughtered in your life time. I'll make sure you're sent to hell where you can scream in agony for the rest of eternity and there'll be no one to rescue you."

"How dare you speak to me like that," Wuya whispered. Her voice was so quiet Kimiko could barely hear it herself but she knew what Wuya was saying. "I'll make sure _you_ never forget what's about to happen to you, so you know what happens when you try and fuck with me. Ty! Alexis! Sky!" Three people marched down the corridor immediately; Ty, Alexis, and a woman with ash blonde hair that was in desperate need of a wash who Kimiko presumed was Sky. Alexis produced a metal ring of keys, fitted one into the lock and them the three of them stepped inside the cell and approached Kimiko.

**.:.:.:.**

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Master Fung?" Omi asked.

"We have no other choice," Master Fung said.

"You know what would be good?" Clay said thoughtfully. "If we had the Changing Chopsticks, Reversing Mirror and Shroud of Shadows. We could make the Shroud big enough to cover all of us and Dojo and fly there without getting seen."

"Yes, but we do have the Shroud of Shadows or Reversing Mirror," Omi said.

"Yeah," Clay said sadly. "We'll just have to risk it." He clambered onto Dojo's back and made sure his rolled up tent was secured safely on his back. Dojo took off and they began to fly back to the Xiaolin Temple, expecting to be attacked at any moment. It was a long ride back and sky was clear of clouds and enemies. Omi began to worry if maybe they were flying right into a trap. Maybe they were being watched but Wuya's army was waiting for them to land before they attacked. Then a thought struck him. What if Kimiko _hadn't _left? What if Wuya's soldiers had crept into the cave in the night and kidnapped her? But surely if they had of been able to do that, they would have taken all of them instead of just Kimiko, and they'd have taken all of the Shen Gong Wu instead of just the Golden Tiger Claws. Unless they wanted the other warriors to think she had gone so they'd fly into their trap. But that still didn't explain why they'd set up a trap for them if they could just take them all when they were asleep. No, the only explanation was that Kimiko had just been stupid enough to go back to the Temple on her own. And she had undoubtedly been captured otherwise she would have been back by now. But it would be stupid to just assume that without actually checking; stupider than flying through the sky in brought daylight on a bright green dragon in a country that was now almost completely ruled by Wuya.

The land below them became more familiar as they neared the Xiaolin Temple and the warriors gazed down at it- even Sampson, who had slowly gotten used to flying on Dojo. Then the ground began to get closer as Dojo came to land and once again they were stood on the green lawn on the ruined Xiaolin Temple, seeing and feeling the exact same things Kimiko had when she had returned here just last night. The Temple was clearly empty but went inside anyway and explored, taking in the damage and looking at their own destroyed rooms and possessions.

"She's not here," Sampson said at last, when he met up with Omi in the kitchen. "And I can't find the medallion in her room. So she must have managed to get it."

"And then what happened?" Omi said. They looked at each other silently. "Why did she do this?" Omi said after a moment. It was a rhetorical question. Then they both froze as they heard footsteps approaching. It was logical to think it was just Master Fung or Clay, but somehow they didn't think it was, and not just because Master Fung and Clay entered the kitchen at that moment but the footsteps continued down the corridor behind them. And the expressions on their faces confirmed it.

"They are here," Master Fung said. Three simple words that drove fear into their hearts. Then there was a giggle from behind them and they spun around to face Alexis. She was leaning against the doorframe with her long silver hair hanging in her face, a cruel smile on her lips and blood on her clothes.

"Looking for the girl?" she asked.

"Is that..." Clay said, trailing off, feeling sick as he stared at the blood on Alexis' dress, already knowing the answer to the question he wasn't able to finish asking. Alexis just nodded slowly, her pale blue eyes fixed on Clay's.

"Oh, she screamed," Alexis said slowly and then she cackled. "She fucking screamed! She _begged_ for mercy!"

"But did she tell you anything?" Sampson asked. His fists were clenched at his side and trembling but his voice was low and steady and Alexis stopped laughing and an expression of annoyance flashed across her face.

"No. She didn't. But she will."

"So she's still alive?" Clay asked.

"For now," Alexis said. "But that's what she gets for being stupid enough to come back here. Stupid bitch."

Sampson made a move forward, raising his arm ready to strike but Clay caught him by the arm and pulled him back. Alexis smiled at that.

"Protecting the girl are you?" she asked Sampson. "I wonder why that is."

"She's my friend," Sampson spat.

"Really? She doesn't like you very much does she?"

Clay glanced sideways at Sampson, still holding onto Sampson's arm, but Sampson didn't notice. His eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Alexis', proving he wasn't afraid of her.

"Just let her go," Omi said quietly. "Or we shall force you to."

"What are you going to do, midget?" Alexis asked, tearing her eyes away from Sampson as Clay let go of his arm at last. But that was a mistake Sampson had been waiting for. As soon as he was free, he flung himself at Alexis, who let out a little startled squeal that momentarily destroyed her cruel image as she was knocked backwards by a punch in the face and a kick in the stomach.

"Sampson, no!" Omi and Clay yelled in unison. Alexis was only off guard for a few moments and in a matter of seconds she had regained her feet and had caught Sampson around the waist and thrown him backwards where he stumbled over an overturned dining chair and fell over, his legs in a tangle and a thin trickle of blood oozing from a cut on the side of his head where it struck the floor.

"Pathetic boy," Alexis snarled, sweeping silver hair from out if her pale eyes. Sampson sat up and kicked the chair away from himself at the same moment that Clay began to run for Alexis. The chair struck his right leg and he lost his balance and fell face first to the floor, throwing his arms out to try and break the fall. Alexis laughed. Omi ran, jumped over the chair and Clay and landed in front of Alexis. He swung out a leg, catching Alexis by the ankles and then giving her a hard shove at the same time so she went over backwards. Master Fung was pulling Clay to him feet.

Alexis kicked out her own legs whilst she was lying on the floor and caught Omi in the stomach. He doubled up and vomited on the floor. Alexis jumped to her feet and kicked Omi squarely on the top of the head while he was bent over. He fell backwards and his head connected with the ground with a sickening crack. Blood began to pour from the fresh wound in his head as lay there, unconscious.

"Omi! Kid!" Dojo yelled. He had been cowering underneath Clay's hat which had fallen off when Clay tripped over the chair. He slithered over to Omi. "He's really hurt!" he cried.

"We must leave," Master Fung said urgently. Sampson wasn't listening. Blood had trickled into his right eye which he had closed against it and now he wiped this away with the back of his hand and glared at Alexis. Clay swept up his hat, rammed it onto his head and then picked Omi up. He ran from the room with Omi in his arms and Master Fung and Dojo hurried after him. Sampson dived for Alexis again. He threw his fist but Alexis caught it easily in one hand. With her other hand she seized the top of Sampson's outstretch arm and spun him around, letting go so that he tripped over his own feet and went headfirst into the kitchen wall. He blinded in one eye again by a film of blood and a warm feeling down the back of his head told him there was another new wound on his head.

"Sampson!" Clay called desperately from the hallway. Sampson gave Alexis a fleeting glances that said _this isn't over_ as he got to his feet and sprinted drunkenly from the kitchen, wiping more blood from his face to clear his vision. Dojo had already supersized just inside the hanging Temple doors and everyone was already aboard and waiting; Omi held in Clay's arms who was already coated in Omi's blood. Sampson jumped onto Dojo's back and Dojo took off instantly, before Alexis could catch up. As they soared through the air, Master Fung fumbled through the sack of Shen Gong Wu. Sampson's head was beginning to throb sickeningly and he clutched it in both hands and screwed his eyes shut against the bright sunlight to try and ease some of the pain and blood dripped slowly from his head onto his clothes. Master Fung produced the Healing Hand of Dashi from the sack and healed first Omi and then Sampson. The wounds closed up but Omi remained unconscious and Sampson's headache lingered but they were no longer in any danger of sever blood loss.

"What do we do now?" Clay asked Master Fung. "If this is what she alone can do to Omi and Sampson, what have they done to Kimiko...there was so much blood..." Clay looked at Master Fung, silently pleading him for answers and plans but Master Fung simply looked back and the sorrow in his eyes told the truth Clay feared; at the moment, there was nothing they could do. They weren't strong enough to invade Wuya's palace yet.

**.:.:.:.**

The pain was endless. Agonising. It felt like she had been there for days, maybe weeks, suffering through this torture but in reality it had only been a couple of hours. Alexis had left when Wuya had given the news that the other Warriors were heading back to the Temple and Kimiko had felt a guilt so strong it had temporarily cut through her physical pain, but worsened her emotional pain. If they were captured, or even worse, if they were _killed_, it was her fault. They had gone back because of her. Ty had remained however, and Ty was the one causing all of this pain. If she had time to think she would have rather had Alexis here, because Ty was nightmarish, but she would have been grateful that it wasn't Wuya. Wuya herself was draped over the arms of a secondary throne, watching the show. She didn't want blood all over her proper throne room so she had had another throne put into her "chamber" so she could watch her victims suffering.

Kimiko lay on the cold stone floor before Wuya's high throne, with blood pouring from her nose and lower lip, numerous cuts on her arms and legs and her forehead. Some of the wounds were simply cuts, some were stab wounds from the blade that was now tucked into Ty's belt, and some were inflicted from those horribly deadly balls of black and green light. And the whole time Wuya had laughed. Kimiko had screamed and cried and pleaded and Wuya had laughed. And now Ty stopped and looked up at Wuya.

"Are you ready to tell us what you know, Kimiko?" Wuya asked. Kimiko just sobbed, her tears slicing thin clean lines through the mask of blood on her face. "Answer me girl!" Wuya demanded.

"Never," Kimiko choked. Just the effort of speaking that one word made her throat close up and she gagged and then vomited onto the already bloodstained floor. Wuya nodded at Ty and Ty pulled the knife from his belt again.

"No, please!" Kimiko pleaded. Her voice was low and her throat screamed in pain with every syllable but it was an easier pain to live with than the feeling of that blade piercing her skin. But Ty paid no attention. She had already said she still wouldn't give them any information and he had his orders. He kneeled down beside Kimiko and gently stroked her hair back from her forehead.

"This'll only hurt a little," he said quietly. And he plunged the blade into her shoulder. Kimiko shrieked in agony, despite the tearing sensation in her throat as she did so. Ty twisted the blade one hundred and eighty degrees and then wrench it out again and Kimiko screamed and screamed, more tears of pain and fear cascading down her cheeks. When this had first begun she had fought back and Ty himself had blood drying on his face from a smashed nose but in the end he had overpowered her and now she barely had the energy to move. She didn't understand why Alexis had been in charge of taking over the Temple because next to Ty, Alexis was weak.

Ty wiped the blade on Kimiko's sleeve, leaving a blood stain that was hardly distinguishable amongst the rest of the blood soaking into and drying on her clothes.

"Please stop," Kimiko whispered.

Ty leaned over her and planted a kiss on her forehead and whispered into her ear, "Just tell us what we want to know and it'll all be over."

"I can't," Kimiko replied, cringing away from him.

"Well, that's a shame," Ty said. He ran the blade down Kimiko's cheek leaving a shallow cut. Blood beaded and began to drip down her cheek as she watched him, her vision blurred with tears and wavering in and out of focus as more and more blood escaped her body and pooled on the floor around her. She began to slip in and out of consciousness and that was when Wuya got to her feet.

"Take her back to her cell. I want her to be awake otherwise it's just boring," she said. Then she swept past Ty and Kimiko and left the room.

**I'm not really sure what the reactions to the torture and to Ty in general will be but I'm taking the risk. I hope you liked the chapter and don't forget to review to let me know your opinions. The next chapter shouldn't be too long I don't think. I'm not one for giving out hints and spoilers but I will say this; help is coming.**


	19. Rescue

**I think you'll like this more than the last chapter. Enjoy**

**Chapter 19**

**Rescue**

When Kimiko awoke, every inch of her body aching and her head throbbing, she was back in her cell, lying on the thin sheet that served as a bed. The sheet was the same colour as her clothes. Red. Blood red. There was dried blood on her face was well but she didn't care. She didn't even want to move because it was agony. So she simply lay there for what felt like hours, staring up at the stone ceiling and realising it was very cold here. Images of what had happened to her before she had passed out kept flashing across her mind, the blade diving into her arms and legs. Ty stroking the hair back from her forehead and planting a kiss there. The way his eyes had racked her body greedily. Even just thinking about Ty made her sick with disgust and cold with terror.

"Filthy bastard," Kimiko muttered under her breath. Her throat was sore and her voice was hoarse and she coughed, tasting blood.

"Who's that?" asked a tentative voice from out of sight. Kimiko sat up, her body crying out in pain. Through the bars of her cell she could see a long, narrow corridor and on the other side was another cell. She got to her feet and limped over to the bars of her cell and peered down the corridor. The cells ran on both sides.

"Who's there?" Kimiko asked.

"Virginia," the voice answered. There was a strong American tang in the girl's voice. "Who are you?"

"Kimiko," Kimiko answered. "Kimiko Tohomiko."

The girl gasped and said, "Are you one of those Xiaolin Dragons?"

"Yeah I am," Kimiko answered. "Why are you here?"

"Oh...I was picked up by one of the Dark Queen's men...or whatever they are...in Australia where me and my boyfriend were on holiday when The Dark Queen invaded. They...they killed him...to make me talk. But I didn't know anything. So she brought me to China and just threw me back onto the streets again and then one of Wuya's men took me instead. I think she just wants me here so she doesn't get bored," Virginia said. Her voice was calm and steady and Kimiko admired her already for that.

"Why did The Dark Queen bring you to China?" Kimiko asked.

"I don't know. I think she just wanted me out of _her_ country. Why are you here?"

"Our Temple got invaded but I left one of my friend's things...Raimundo's medallion...and I didn't want Wuya getting her dirty fingers on it so I went back and they were there. Like they knew I'd go back," Kimiko said fingering the lump beneath her ruined T-shirt that was Raimundo's medallion as she spoke.

"Raimundo's the one that went missing?" Virginia asked.

"Yeah," Kimiko said quietly. She felt a lump rise in her throat and her voice trembled so she changed the subject. "Where are you from?"

"New York," Virginia answered. "And you?"

"Tokyo," Kimiko said.

"Wow. Me and my boyfriend were going to go there in a couple of years. I always wanted to go so he promised..." she trailed off and Kimiko's heart sank, knowing what Virginia was thinking of right now. She was thinking of the last time she saw her boyfriend alive. Kimiko knew because she was doing the same with Raimundo. It had been the 29th April 2007. He had been saying his goodbyes and then he and the elder monks had left the Temple grounds. Kimiko, Omi, Clay, Master Fung and Dojo had watched their retreating backs and then Kimiko had ran after him and pulled him back a little. She didn't know why she felt the need to do this, but she was glad she had. It was almost as it she had known she wouldn't see him again.

"You better be careful," she had told him in a low voice. The elders were waiting a little further ahead.

"Of course I will," Raimundo had laughed.

"I mean it," Kimiko said. "Anything could happen." That was when Raimundo placed his hands gently on Kimiko's shoulders and told her, "Everything will be fine. I promise." And he planted a warm kiss on her cheek, smiled and ran after the elders. Kimiko had stood alone as she watched them leave.

"Do you think she'll kill us?" Virginia asked, cutting through Kimiko's memory, turning it to smoke in her mind. "Wuya, I mean."

"...When she doesn't need us anymore," Kimiko said. "But I promise I won't let that happen. I'll get us out...somehow."

**.:.:.:.**

"Why do I have to do it? She's looking for me, she wants me _dead_! What if she catches me?" Jack had asked when Raimundo had told Jack what he had to do.

"You need to learn to take risks Spicer. And it's not as if you're going alone. Plus, you know Wuya better than most people," Raimundo had replied, his hands stuffed into his filthy jeans pockets, regarding Jack calmly with his deep green eyes.

"How do you even know this?" Jack had then asked, referring to the information Raimundo had just told him.

"I have my sources," Raimundo said and a flicker of his old mischievous grin had flashed across his tanned face.

Now Jack was flying as fast as he could over an ocean he had never bothered to learn the name of. He hadn't liked geography much in school and it still didn't interest him now; all he cared about was finding his way to China- which wasn't heard to do what with the peak of Wuya's damn palace in plain sight already- and not get caught, or worse, killed. As the palace drew nearer and nearer, Jack's thoughts wandered to when he had first found Raimundo, after following his voice on the Mind Reader Conch to the camp. It was one thing to hear Raimundo's voice but actually seeing him in person was on a whole new level. Even Jack had come to the conclusion that Raimundo was dead and he had seen all three remaining Xiaolin monks suffer through their loss and then begin to recover- all except Kimiko. He had wondered what Kimiko would do if she ever saw him again. Then Raimundo had grinned and Jack had completely forgotten any time had passed at all between the day Raimundo left for the battle at Zhengzhou and then disappeared off the face of the Earth and now. He had changed, definitely. He had lost weight and his face and arms were scarred from the battles he had fought in, but his eyes had blazed with the old mischievous, sarcastic joy when he had grinned at Jack and for the first time in Jack's memory of knowing Raimundo, he had returned that smile with genuine pleasure.

To his left, an American woman named Joy Callaghan flew using the only Shen Gong Wu they owned; the Wings if Tinarbi. Joy had been injured in the war but Abi had nursed her back to health and now she was strong again. Behind him was a single Jack-bot. It was just the two of them and the robot but Jack hoped that was all they needed. Wuya's dreadful palace was closer than ever and his stomach was beginning to lurch unpleasantly with fear.

**.:.:.:.**

"Your friend..." Virginia said suddenly, speaking slowly. "Raimundo. What does he look like?" Kimiko was sitting on the floor of her cell, her back against the back wall, examining the wounds on her arms and legs. Now both of her shoulders were hideously damaged and just looking at them made Kimiko feel sick. These kinds of wounds would never heal properly. She was going to be scarred for life, however long her life was going to be anyway.

"He's was...tall...tanned...he's got brown hair. It was quite long I suppose but his usually gelled it up...he's got green eyes...dark green eyes...he's got quite sharp teeth as well, we always call them his fangs," Kimiko smiled a little. "...Why?"

"He was a bit worse for wear but...I think it was him," Virginia said.

"What was him?" Kimiko asked, her heart beginning to pick up speed.

"It was sometime in March I think. March 2007. He was here. Just for a week, but he got away. He promised he'd come back for me but he never did."

"March...2007," Kimiko said thoughtfully. "Virginia, how long have you been here?"

"I don't even know anymore," Virginia responded with a forced laugh. Kimiko sat, gazing out through the bars of her cell but not seeing the empty cell opposite her, she hardly even saw the bars themselves; she was thinking. She had definitely seen Raimundo after March 2007. That was when he had been able to stay at the Xiaolin Tempe before leaving again for the last time. Had he mentioned getting caught by Wuya? Kimiko didn't think he had. Maybe Virginia had gotten it wrong. But something told Kimiko she hadn't. Virginia _had_ seen Raimundo here and Raimundo had had some other reason for not telling them. What could that be?

Kimiko's thought were interrupted by a crash from the floor above, and she glanced up at the stone ceiling nervously.

"What was that?" Virginia whispered.

"I have no idea," Kimiko replied quietly. There was another crash and a scream, closer to the dungeons now. That scream sounded familiar, but Kimiko could not quite put her finger on it. Then the door to the dungeons burst open and there were hurried footsteps down the stairs. And then Kimiko was face to face with-

"Spicer?" Kimiko gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you," Jack said. He shoved a key into the lock and threw open the cell down. "Now come on." Kimiko got to her feet, wincing as the pain shot through them like lightening, and limped over to Jack. Then she passed him and went to Virginia's cell where she was able to look at her new friend for the first time. Virginia sat against the back wall of her cell, just as Kimiko had been. She had ghostly white skin and flaming red hair that hung loose and limp over her shoulders. Her eyes were a muddy brown colour that were dull with hopelessness, sorrow and acceptance. Her clothes were so much stained rags that hung from her malnourished body that was scarred and mutilated beyond belief. She smiled when Kimiko looked in at her. It was not a happy smile. Kimiko looked at Jack.

"Get her out," Kimiko said.

"I haven't got the key for that cell," Jack answered.

"Well then go and get it!" Kimiko demanded. Jack flinched back slightly.

"We don't have time Kimiko! I'm sorry!"

"Just go," Virginia said calmly. "If Wuya comes here now she'll kill you both. So just go."

"Virginia, listen to me," Kimiko said. "I promise you- I _swear_ to you- I'll come back for you." Virginia smiled and nodded her head slightly, but then there was another crash from above and she said urgently, "Go!" Jack took Kimiko by the wrist and pulled her from the room. Kimiko was able to glance back at the dungeons only once before she was dragged up the stairs but she did not see Virginia. Then she and Jack were hurtling down a corridor as fast as they could. There were sounds of a fight somewhere nearby.

"What's that?" Kimiko managed to ask.

"Joy. She was the distraction, while I went to get you," Jack replied. At the end of the corridor Kimiko saw something that made her laugh in spite of everything that had happened. One Jackbot, hovering alone in the doorway between this corridor and the entrance hall to the palace. Jack nodded to the Jackbot and it whizzed out of sight and headed towards the sound of the fight.

"That's to tell Joy I've got you," Jack explained. "What's so funny?" Jack's bewildered expression made Kimiko laugh even more and she was not able to explain why she was laughing. She wasn't even sure she knew herself. But she was saved the trouble by the appearance of a tall, thin woman with long ash blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, brilliant blue eyes and a bloody lip. Apart from the lip, she seemed completely unharmed.

"Kimiko Tohomiko?" she asked. Another American. Kimiko nodded. "Joy Callaghan," the woman said.

"Nice to meet you," Kimiko said uncertainly.

"Jack, you lost your robot," Jot said to Jack, who just shrugged, then she turned her attention back to Kimiko. "Come on, you look like hell. Abi can fix you up though when we get back though." She pulled the Wings of Tinarbi out of her pocket and then three of them sprinted from the palace. Kimiko yelled in surprise as Jack picked her up and then he and Joy flew from the palace as fast as they could.

They were flying for what felt like hours and if Kimiko wasn't afraid that Jack was going to drop her and sent her hurtling to her doom, she would probably have fallen asleep.

"Where are we going?" Kimiko asked.

"You'll see," Jack said. He smiled and Kimiko actually thought she saw a hint of excitement in his red eyes. That made her curious.

"Where have you been Jack?" she asked.

"Never mind," Jack said. Kimiko sighed. She looked down over Jack's shoulder and saw trees. Countless trees, drawing nearer and nearer. They were landing.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"The Amazon rainforest," Joy responded.

"You're kidding?" Kimiko asked. They descended through a small gap in the branches and it was like looking down on a whole town made entirely from tents. There were campfires and children running around, laughing. There were the sounds of sobs as well and the babble of hundreds of different conversations. Jack landed and placed Kimiko on her feet. She gazed around in awe and saw several others looking at her. A lot of them were wounded, all of them were thin but they all smiled at her when she looked at them. And then from behind her, "Kimiko." It was a voice she knew all too well and could not mistake for anyone else. Her heart seemed to stop in her chest as she spun around and there he was. The boy she had argued defiantly over, refusing to believe he was dead. And now she knew she had been right all along. He has a little different, thinner and older, and his hair was longer and now hung freely to his shoulders and his skin was scarred but there was a smile on his lips and it was the same old smile. It had never changed.

"Rai," Kimiko breathed. And then she ran to him and threw herself into her arms, wrapping her own arms around him in a fierce hug which he willingly returned, laughing a little. Kimiko's body cried out in agony but she hardly noticed. She realised she was crying but she was laughing as well and she hugged the boy she had missed so much. Then she stepped back and looked at him.

"You alright?" Raimundo asked. He put his hands back into his jeans pockets, but the smile remained on his face.

"I am now," Kimiko grinned. "Are you?"

"I'm good," Raimundo said.

"You did what you said you would then," Kimiko said, gesturing to the tents around them. "Gathering up the wounded and the homeless and looking after them."

"Yeah, I did. You got my letter?"

"Yeah. Just a few days ago actually," Kimiko said. "Wuya took over the Xiaolin Temple. We were hiding in that cave."

"Wuya's got the Temple?" Raimundo asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, but no one got hurt. Well...not seriously hurt," Kimiko said.

"How did Wuya catch you?" Raimundo asked.

"I went back for this." Kimiko pulled the medallion out from under her bloodstained T-shirt and then pulled it over her head. She held it out to Raimundo and he took it carefully, turning it over in his hand, looking amazed.

"I lost this at Zhengzhou," he said quietly.

"And I found it," Kimiko said proudly. "I never gave up Rai. I always knew you were alive. The others..."

"The others gave up," Raimundo said. He looked back at Kimiko and now there was sadness in his eyes.

"They had no choice. We went years without a single word from you. No one had seen you either. It was like you'd just vanished."

"You never gave up," Raimundo raised an eyebrow.

"I'm stubborn," Kimiko replied and Raimundo smiled again. Kimiko smiled back but then she remembered something. "Why didn't you tell us Wuya had caught you, before you got back to the Temple the last time?"

"She's been after me ever since," Raimundo explained. "It was just safer for you lot if you knew nothing about it...If they gave up on me...did they replace me?"

Kimiko looked down at her feet and then nodded. "Sampson Paige. He's alright but he's nothing compared to you."

"Good," Raimundo nodded, but Kimiko thought she saw sorrow in his eyes. "Come on, I'll take you to Abi." He led Kimiko off and Jack followed a little further behind them.

After Abi Linn had treated Kimiko's wounds to the best of her ability, she, Raimundo, Kimiko and Jack sat outside the tent where little Davi lay sleeping.

"Rai," Kimiko said. "Tell me what happened to you since you last left the Xiaolin Temple." Raimundo looked at Kimiko for a moment, as if deciding if he wanted to tell her or not and then he ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. He shifted a little on the forest floor to get more comfortable and then he began to speak.

**I think I could have done the reunion a little better to be honest but never mind. I hope you liked it anyways. Please, please, please don't forget to review!**


	20. Raimundo's Story

**This chapter was supposed to be a lot longer but it was so hard to write that it became a bit of an annoying burden so I wanted it finished so I'm sorry if parts of it don't make sense or if it seems a little rushed. I'll make up for it. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 20**

**Raimundo's Story**

"I'd watched nearly all of the elder monks from the Xiaolin Temple die, plus millions of people fighting for us that I didn't know and innocent people who weren't even in the battles. I wasn't prepared to let more people die when I could help them. In the battle at Zhengzhou, I got injured. I was fighting some of The Dark Queen's soldiers- whatever the hell they are- and they one of them threw this weird ball at me, sort of like those black and green ones the Heylin side have, only this one was a sort of silvery colour and when they threw it, it looked more like a beam than a ball. It went straight through my leg but afterwards I couldn't walk. I couldn't even move. I just lay there for hours bleeding and getting trampled and getting hit by more attacks from other soldiers. Most were unintentional I think, they had just missed their targets. I was just waiting to die. I had already accepted my fate if we're being honest and I passed out, thinking I'd probably never wake up again. I'd lost so much blood and I was in so much pain I started to hope it _was_ the end. I've never experienced pain like that before. But I did wake up and when I did I had no idea where I was. I was inside somewhere and it was quiet. It was so quiet I actually thought I'd gone deaf for a moment until I realised I could hear my own breathing. Hell, I could hear my own _heartbeat_. That's how quiet it was. And then three of those cloaked things that fight for The Dark Queen came towards me. They don't walk you know. They _hover_. And one of them pointed at me- well, it raised its arm, I didn't see its hand- and my whole body just lifted off the floor. That was when I got a good look around. I could tell it was some sort of castle of palace. But everything was made of this dark, translucent material. And do you know, I think it was diamond. Black diamond. A whole palace made out of black diamond.

"Anyway, they levitated me out of whatever room I was in and into another room, that was probably the size of the whole Xiaolin Temple and the Temple grounds," Raimundo nodded at the shocked look on Kimiko's face and then continued. "It was completely empty but then this voice said _"Are you Raimundo Pedrosa?"_ and it seemed to come from everywhere."

"The Dark Queen," Kimiko said breathlessly. "Did you see her?"

"No. I just heard her voice. And to be honest, I never want to hear it again. I don't know how to describe it to you and you wouldn't understand anyway unless you'd heard it yourself but it was..._painful_. It made me want to scream. It was like...I know, the Demontors in _Harry Potter_. It was like repeating all the bad things that have happened in your life all at once. It makes you think you're going mad. I thought I'd have been happy to have just dropped dead at that moment. And then she asked again and I answered just to make her stop talking. I told her yes, but then she said _"You are injured and dying. You are useless to me."_ And that was it. Her soldiers carried me out of the room and out of the palace and just...dumped me. And you know what Kimiko, from the inside the palace looks like it could be as big as a whole _city_ and I had wondered "How come no one has seen this?" and I got my answer when I was dumped outside. From the outside, you can't see it."

"Oh my god," Kimiko moaned. Her face was pale and her mouth was open slightly. Light was slowly leaking from the day and the long shadows of the hundreds of trees around them played across her face. "If you were in that area again, could you find it?" she asked. Raimundo shook his head. Kimiko bit her lip. "This is going to be difficult, isn't it?" Kimiko said. This time Raimundo nodded.

"We'll have to face her eventually if we want to put a stop to this war," Abi said.

"Have you ever considered," Kimiko said suddenly. "That maybe The Dark Queen doesn't _have_ a physical form? No one had ever seen her and she spoke to you but you couldn't see her. Her soldiers clearly aren't human. Who's to say she is?"

"We know she's not human. She's a witch. Like Wuya," Abi said.

"She's a witch. But not like Wuya. They're different," Raimundo said. "I have considered that, Kimiko, but I don't think it's true. She might not be human but I'm almost certain she has a physical form. I don't know why I'm so sure, I just am.

"Anyways," Raimundo continued. "I was lying there for a while. I had no idea where I was and I had no remaining energy to move so I was back in the same position as I was on the battle field; just waiting to die. That was when Abi came along," Raimundo looked sideways at Abi and they smiled at each other in a familiar way that made Kimiko's stomach turn over but she ignored it. In fact, she hardly noticed it, she was too enthralled by Raimundo's tale.

"Abi used the Wings of Tinarbi that I had taken to war with me and she carried me back to the cave. The one where we hid from Mala Mala Jong. She looked after me and every day she went back to the battle to look for the wounded and she brought them back to the cave. She had her own little hospital." Abi smiled a little. "It was a lot for one person to manage, there were about seven of us and most of them were in a worse state than me. But she did it. Two died but the rest of us survived all thanks to Abi. She had to break into hospitals and pharmacies in different parts of China in order to get what she needed but did it. Once I had recovered a little I started helping as well. But I knew we couldn't stay there because I knew Wuya was after me.

"We all recovered eventually, or at least mostly recovered and we had to move on. We'd stayed in place for too long and I could feel safety slipping away more and more each day we were there. We walked at night, always trying to keep out of major towns and cities so we wouldn't be seen. We went to the scene of the very first battle, in Beijing. We didn't really expect to find anyone there, that battle was _years_ ago. But we did. About five people living in an old house. The house was falling apart but it was in better shape than the rest. All the windows were broken, there were holes in the roof and top floor and walls so the rain got in, the bloody _stairs_ had collapsed so they couldn't get upstairs and they all slept on the old living room floor in sleeping bags. Two of them had been in the war and had been injured but recovered, the other three had just lost everything simply by living in the area the battle broke out- house, friends, family. Everything. And they'd been living there ever since, stealing food from shops in towns miles and miles away or trying to hunt down food to eat. I was amazed they'd survived. But one of them, Mee, told me their number used to be much bigger, more homeless people, orphaned children and wounded soldiers but they had died either from their injuries or malnutrition or thirst or exposure because I swear to god, there were more holes in that house's roof than there was actual roof. We stayed there for a while then I took the Wings of Tinarbi and flew to Morioka in Japan where the second battle had been. I carried Abi there. We found more survivors at that battlefield but there were too many to carry back so once Abi had looked after them, we had to hide out as stowaways on a cargo ship heading back to China, just like in 2007 when me and Chang hid on a cargo ship going to Britain from America.

"We almost got caught when the ship was unloading after it reached China and we had to run. We lost two of the refugees we'd found in Japan and we never saw them again." Raimundo swept his long hair from his face, looking angry, as if it had been his fault they had lost those two people. "It didn't really help that only one of the ones left spoke English either. They had to translate everything for us. We got back to that dilapidated house though, to find that another man had died of starvation. That was when we started the food hunts. People volunteered for it and every couple of nights they'd go searching for food, stealing from shops and houses in other parts of China, using the Wings of Tinarbi to travel. We stayed there for about two weeks but I was starting to feel unsafe again, like the longer we stayed there the more likely it was that Wuya- or someone working for her- would find us and come for us. So we moved at night, picking up other people who had lost everything in the war. One of them had been a captain in the British Navy and had gotten stranded in China. Finding him was like our lucky break. We managed to steal a ship and with his help we left China. Having him meant it was easier to get into blocked off countries. Of course all the ports and docks were being watched so we had to find other ways of getting in but we managed. We spent most of the time on that damn ship though; we went to Russia, France, Canada and North America before we finally came here. We picked up as many people as possible and got as much supplies as we could carry, food, drink, clothes. Everything. And finally we got to Brazil. We were almost caught on our way here and we lost four men and the ship. We don't know what happened to the ship, it was just gone. I think it just must have been stolen; people fleeing the country like we had done.

"On the way here, we passed so close to my parent's house," Raimundo said. Now he looked nothing short of homesick. "I was so tempted to go and see if they were still there...if they were still alive. But if I did I'd put them in danger."

"They are alive," Kimiko said. "I went to see them not too long ago." And she told Raimundo about how she had come to Brazil looking for answers about Raimundo's whereabouts and how Bethania had come to China for a short while with her. And then she told him- regrettably- about his missing brothers. Anger raged in his eyes at this.

"We're going to find them though!" Kimiko added quickly. "They weren't in the cell room with me when Wuya kidnapped me but they'll be in her palace somewhere. They'll still be alive, she's using them as bait or blackmail or something. She needs them alive."

"I suppose she does," Raimundo spat.

"I promise you, we'll find them Rai," Abi said softly, laying a comforting hand on Raimundo's shoulder. He seemed to calm a little at this. "But for now, your friend wants to hear the rest of your story, and I think she deserves to know too, don't you?" For some reason, being referred to as "your friend" angered Kimiko but she held it back as Raimundo nodded. She could see he was battling with his own anger and worry now but he pushed on. She thought now he probably just wanted to finish telling his tale and be done with it. There wasn't much left of it anyway.

"We travelled around Brazil for a few days- well, nights- looking for more people. It was dangerous because there were now so many of us and we all spoke different languages and I got more nervous ever night. Finally we came here and set up camp. I knew we would be safe here because no one comes here. Not yet anyway. I think it'll cross Wuya's mind to look eventually but for now it's safe. We still find homeless people and wounded people every now and again and there are still some wounded people we found from other countries so Abi's kept busy.

"But one of the luckiest things that happened- apart from meeting Abi- was when I found the Mind Reader Conch at the bottom of my bag. I'd completely forgotten I had it and I didn't think it'd do any good anyways because I knew Wuya and Spicer had the other one but I tried it and it was Spicer who was carrying it. And he needed help. I made him come here and he's been a massive help. And to be honest Kimiko, I never thought I'd say that," he laughed a little, despite his anger and his eagerness to finish talking. Kimiko smiled a little at the sound despite her own growing dread. What she was dreading she wasn't entirely sure but she knew she'd find out soon enough. She felt sick with nerves and she had an uncomfortable certainty that it had something to do with this Abi.

"On one of the food hunts, Joy, the woman who helped save you, overheard two of Wuya's soldiers talking about how Wuya had captured you so I sent her and Jack to rescue you."

"Thank you," Kimiko smiled. "We need to go back again though, to get Virginia and look for your brothers and Sampson's family. They were taken when the Temple was invaded. I didn't see them either."

"Virginia is still there?" Raimundo asked, a slight note in his voice that sounded a little like guilt.

"Yeah," Kimiko nodded. "Although for how much longer I'm not sure. She looks like she could drop dead at any moment." Raimundo bit his lip. "It's not your fault you had to leave her Rai. I had to as well. But we both promised her we would go back and save her and that's a promise I refuse to break." Raimundo nodded, his face set in a look of determination.

"Come on Rai, you look shattered. We'll g to bed now," Abi said. And she planted a kiss on Raimundo's cheek and got to her feet, pulling Raimundo up with her. Kimiko's stomach seemed to drop right out of her. If not for the feeling like she was going vomit, she would have believed it had really left her body. Her heart seemed to stop dead.

"You can sleep in that tent there," Abi said, pointing to a tent not too far away. "There's only one person sleeping in there. She's lovely, you'll like her. It was nice meeting you."

"You too," Kimiko said letting too much sarcasm, slip through her lips and hoping neither Raimundo nor Abi had noticed.

"We'll see you in the morning. Good night." And the pair of them disappeared inside their own tent, leaving Kimiko sitting on the leaf-strewn ground alone, battling with her own non-existent stomach and willing her heart to beat again. She had known it all along hadn't she? She had known it without realising it. It made perfect sense. It explained everything. After all those years, it finally hit home. She loved Raimundo. She always had. And now she had lost her chance to tell him that.

**Please don't kill me! I hope you liked it anyway. Sorry if you didn't. It gets better, honest. I'll update whenever possible. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.**


	21. Discovered

**VERY long wait for which I apologise. This chapter is almost six pages long on Microsoft word so I hope that makes up for it. I really hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 21**

**Discovered**

Kimiko walked aimlessly through the rows and rows of tents that she was beginning to think of as streets in her mind, because of the way they were set up in double rows, facing each other like houses. Morning sun was just beginning to poke its way through the few tiny holes in the canopy above. Kimiko had not slept that night. Other than the fact that her new "roommate"- the one Abi said she'd like- turned out to be a hyperactive nineteen year old girl from Tennessee who did not stop talking through the day and snored ruthlessly through the night, she had not been able to think of anything but Abi and Raimundo. That simple quick peck on the cheek replayed over and over again in her head until she wanted to scream. So she had gotten up and had been walking around the camp all night. People were starting to rise now and fires were being built to cook the scant supply of food they had for breakfast. A few of them smiled or waved at Kimiko as she passed, some watched her reproachfully (probably because her clothes were covered with the maroon colour of dried blood) and all of them looked sad- today was just another day they had to try and get through to reach tomorrow. And then tomorrow would be nothing but the same. She noticed men and woman with ugly scars on their faces or arms, or heavy bandages wrapped around their head or limbs and-in two cases- missing arms or legs. She wondered how they had managed to survive those kinds of injuries without being in a proper hospital with just one single nurse to look after them who might not even have been able to speak their language. And, instead of respect for Abi, Kimiko felt an overwhelming hatred bubbling up inside her and- was that jealousy? She thought so. And of course that just made her angrier. She kicked a stone and it rolled a few feet and stopped beside a woman with long, lank hair and dull eyes who gazed up at Kimiko for a few seconds and then returned to the kindling before her. The wood sparked but did not catch and she muttered under breath in a language that Kimiko thought sounded German. Kimiko paused and then went over to the woman. The woman looked at her solemnly and mistrustfully but Kimiko reached out gently and took the wood from the woman. She let it go easily but her distrustful eyes never left Kimiko. Kimiko placed the twigs down with the rest in a pile and then put her hands over them, open palms facing down.

"Fire," she said. The wood sparked and caught and flickered into life. The woman's face now broke into an amazed grin. Kimiko inclined her head slightly at the woman and then got to her feet, stuffed her hands into her blood stained jeans pockets and continued her stroll. She turned a corner into the next

_(street)_

row of tents and saw Raimundo kneeling beside a man with his right arm in a sling and a bandage around his head. They were speaking rapidly in what Kimiko thought was Portuguese. Then Raimundo got to his feet, saw Kimiko and grinned. She had seen that same grin so many times over the years she had known Raimundo and although he had been gone for so long, it was still so familiar. It was the kind of grin you couldn't help but return. He walked over to her.

"You're up early," he said.

"I haven't been asleep," Kimiko said shrugging. There was a moment of silence in which Raimundo looked around him, watching the tents and their awakening inhabitants, and Kimiko simply stood and watched Raimundo. "I can't believe you're still alive," she said quietly. He looked at her again and this time the grin was gone from his face. He looked so much older. She scars on his skin broke her heart to look at as she thought about what he must have gone through on those battlefields. What it must have taken to survive with only those injuries, when so many people just in this camp had lost limbs.

"I thought you said you hadn't given up on me," Raimundo said.

"I hadn't...I just never thought I'd actually see you again. And I'd never know what happened to you," Kimiko said. She smiled a little but it was a forced smile and Raimundo knew it.

"It's nice to see you again," Raimundo said, the corners of his mouth twitching into his own little smile. Before she could help herself, Kimiko wrapped her arms Raimundo in a tight hug and rested her forehead against his collarbone. She had half expected him to push her away, as if he knew how she felt about him and knew Abi wouldn't approve of the hug. But instead he folded his own arms around her and planted a light kiss on the top of her head.

"I missed you, you know," he said.

"I missed you too," Kimiko replied. They broke apart and Kimiko stood with her eyes fixed on the ground next to her feet. Then she heard approaching footsteps and looked up to see Abi walking towards them, tying her hair up in her long plait. She reached them and kissed Raimundo and Kimiko glanced away quickly. Then Abi looked at Kimiko and grinned and was that a flash of humour on her face for a few seconds? Almost like she knew how much it hurt Kimiko to see Raimundo with another girl. If it was ever there, it was gone in a second and she was simply smiling politely.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning," Kimiko echoed, forcing another smile onto her face.

"We're going out for food later on today, do you want to help?" Abi asked.

"Yeah, sure," Kimiko shrugged. "Have to make myself useful somehow." Abi smiled and turned back to Raimundo.

"Davi's awake but he had a nightmare. He wants you," she said. Raimundo nodded and hurried off without a word. Abi looked at Kimiko and Kimiko suddenly felt uncomfortable. She twisted her fingers together in front of her and looked around at the camp and Abi just stood there and looked at her.

"Its...you must be a good nurse...looking after all these people," Kimiko said awkwardly.

"Thanks," Abi smiled. "I don't do _all_ on my own, people help out, but I am the most fully qualified one here. It gets quite difficult sometimes."

"I'm sure it does," Kimiko said and then instantly wished she hadn't spoken was she heard the spiteful sarcasm in her own voice. Abi seemed to have heard it as well because she said, "Well anyways, I've got stuff to do," and walked off without a backwards glance, her plait swinging from side to side as she walked. Kimiko tried to keep the bitter expression off her face. Then she turned and began to walk in the other direction but stopped dead in her tracks when there was a high pitched scream of utter terror, a blinding flash of bright, poisonous green light and the creaking of a tree trunk as it slowly leaned over, snapped and crashed to the ground, pulling down countless tents as it went. Now there were more screams. Kimiko turned slowly on the spot and saw something that made her feel faint; about five hundred people (she spotted Alexis and Ty among them ones in the front) gather in front of about fifty giant rock monsters and at the head of the lot was Wuya herself. She stood with her hands on her hips, a triumphant yet furious expression on her face as she stared around at the camp that had been growing right under her nose. But now she had found them. Everyone simply stood still, staring at each other, and so the sound of running footsteps seemed surreally amplified. And then Raimundo was stood at Kimiko's side, right in front of Wuya.

"You!" Wuya spat. Raimundo just glared at her. "Kill them all. But _he's _mine," Wuya told her army without taking her eyes off Raimundo. In less than a second the air was filled with flashes of light, screams of agony and fear and flying blood. Refugees were being slaughtered in all directions. Some of them had gathered enough strength to fight back for a while but none were strong enough yet to fight an army of five hundred Heylin warriors.

Wuya had gone straight for Raimundo, who had stood his ground and waited for her and now the two of them were battling furiously in the centre of the destruction and Kimiko suddenly realised how much the war had taught Raimundo and wondered if she would ever be ready to join the war herself.

"_It's too later for that now,"_ she thought to herself. _"The war came to you."_ That got her moving. She threw a jet of flames at two of the Heylin soldiers and winced at their agonised screams as they burned alive. She blocked those sounds out and turned on her heel and began to run further into the camp to rescue as many refugees as she could. However, she had only gone a few feet when a figure jumped down from a low tree branch and landed in front of her.

"Hello again," the man said. It was Ty. "Gave us quite a turn when you got away." Without stopping to think, Kimiko pulled her arm back and then threw her fist at Ty with all her strength. It connected with his nose and there was a crushing sound that made her stomach clench up. Blood burst from Ty's nose and he staggered backward clutching his face, a startled expression on his face.

"You fucking whore!" he screamed thickly. He threw his own punch which Kimiko managed to dodge but he caught her with a low kick instead which sent her sprawling into the dirt, her head connecting with the trunk of a fallen tree and her vision temporarily blurred. Then a second blow connected with her side, throwing her sideways so this time she landed on her stomach, coughing. The thing that got her moving this time was the sight of a huge ball of the black mist hurtling towards her. She screamed and rolled to the side then jumped to her feet, stumbling a little. The mist blew a hole straight through the fallen tree trunk and Kimiko had a horrified image of what might have happened to her if she had been a second too slow in getting out of its path. She pushed these thoughts away and threw another jet of flames at Ty. Ty avoided them easily and then ran at her, catching her around the stomach and throwing her over his shoulder. He continued to run, carrying Kimiko and Kimiko began to scream, fighting to be freed with Ty was too strong.

"KIMIKO!" Raimundo screamed in panic when he saw her being carried back through the battle in the direction the Heylin warriors had come from. Wuya was distracted by Raimundo's shout and turned in that direction and Raimundo took the opportunity to throw a punch at her, knocking her to the ground and then kicked her forcefully in the head. Then he sprinted after Ty.

"Rai!" Kimiko yelled when she Raimundo chasing after them. Ty began to speed up and Raimundo began to fall behind. Kimiko gathered her remaining strength and began to struggle her way out of Ty's grip. It didn't accomplish much as Ty was much too strong but it did slow him down and Raimundo caught up again.

"Wudai Star, wind!" he called. A wind too powerful to be natural threw one of the fallen trees in Ty's direction. Ty yelled in panic and dropped his hostage in the effort to get out of the way. Kimiko screamed as she hit the ground, saw the oncoming tree trunk and dived to the side. The tree came to rest between her and Ty and Raimundo reached her and pulled her to her feet.

"I wanted help, I didn't want you to almost kill me!" she spat at Raimundo.

"Well it worked didn't it?" Raimundo shrugged, the ghost of a grin on his face. Then it was gone and there was nothing but fear in his haunted green eyes as he looked around at the battle. "I don't know what to do Kimiko. There's too many of them. We'd have a chance if anyone here was healthy enough to fight again but there's ten or twenty at most who are and that's nowhere near enough. I think we have to run but a lot of them can't even do that!"

"We have to save as many as we can though," Kimiko said. "Otherwise _everyone_ will die." Raimundo looked at her for a moment and she could tell he had been relying on her to have the solution. She could see the tiny flicker of hope draining from his face. Then he nodded. He knew she was right.

"Gather as many as you can and run north," he said quickly and then he turned as was racing off across the forest floor, pulling as many people along with him as he could. It was at that moment when Kimiko heard a child screaming. She looked around wildly and followed the sound back to a small tent. The flap was down but open and she lifted it up to find a small boy inside, thin and weak from starvation and but his face alive with terror. He was screaming in a language Kimiko didn't understand but she didn't care what he was saying anyways. She simply wrapped her arms around the boy and pulled him from the tent and began to run with him in her arms, shouting for others to follow her and help as many others as they could. The ones who spoke English immediately did as they were told, carrying children and the wounded with them. The ones who did not understand English saw what was happening and copied and soon Kimiko a rather large group around her. Ahead of her she could see another cluster of them following Abi Linn. The little boy clung to her and screamed in fear but she had no time to console him- they were being followed.

"I want Raimundo Pedrosa alive! Now get him!" Kimiko heard Wuya screaming from somewhere behind her. She didn't know where Raimundo was but as long as Wuya kept screaming for him she knew he was still safe so she kept running without looking back.

It felt like they had run for miles and miles and Kimiko's breath was tearing through her throat with each inhale. The child in her arms- malnourished as he was- was beginning to feel heavier and heavier with each step she took. The sounds of Wuya and her army fell farther and farther behind until they were gone completely and still they ran deeper and deeper into the forest. And at long last, she caught up with Abi's group of survivors who were all sat on the forest floor looking stunned and pale. Abi got to her feet as soon as she saw Kimiko approach.

"Where's Rai?" she demanded.

"I don't know," Kimiko panted, slowing to a walk. Her group of survivors to friends and family that were there or simply sat on the ground looking as devastated as the rest. "He was behind me I think," Kimiko said.

"Davi!" Abi suddenly gasped, noticing the boy in Kimiko's arms. She rushed over and took him from Kimiko before Kimiko could say anything. She cradled the boy and stroked his hair but she too was unfamiliar with his language and so she could not speak to him. The boy had stopped screaming. He had even stopped crying. He simply sat in Abi's arms and gazed around in shocked wonder. Kimiko sat on the ground and began to wait. The minutes dragged by in painful silence. No one moved. No one spoke. Everything was silent. What felt like hours dragged by until at last there was a sound of hurried footsteps approaching. Kimiko and Abi both got to their feet again and gazed in that direction until at last Raimundo was in view, closely followed by Jack Spicer. Both of them had a child cradled in their arms. Behind them was a crowd of about thirty out-of-breath, injured survivors. Raimundo out the little girl in his arms down and she ran to a man amongst the other survivors who was evidently her father. Both of them began crying with relief.

Abi ran to Raimundo and threw her arms around him, planting a kiss on his lips. "I was so worried! I thought she'd got you!" Abi cried.

"Don't be daft," Raimundo grinned. "She'll never catch me." Abi turned to face the survivors. There were about seventy of them in all; nothing compared to the numbers they had had earlier the same day.

"Everyone else is dead, aren't they?" Abi said softly. Raimundo nodded. Then he spotted Davi sitting on the ground and relief swept over his face as he ran to the boy and picked him up and planted a large kiss on the boy's head. And Davi actually smiled. They began to converse in Portuguese and that was when Abi turned to Kimiko.

"This is your fault you know," she said.

"Excuse me?" Kimiko asked, unbelievably.

"They found us right after we took you from her palace brought you here!" Abi shrieked angrily.

"So you think I led them here?"

"Yes!"

"Girls, there's no need," Jack said timidly but neither of them seemed to hear him. Abi raised her fist and held it poised in mid-air. Kimiko stared at her, daring her to do it. And she did. Kimiko let out a startled squeal and stumbled backwards.

"Abi!" Raimundo yelled, placing Davi back on his feet and rushing over to Kimiko. Before he could see what the damage was he had to hold Kimiko back to stop her from retaliating. Unable to get at Abi, Kimiko spat at her feet instead.

"This is no one's fault!" Raimundo said, his arms still around Kimiko's waist, pulling her back. She finally relaxed and just let Raimundo hold her. This angered Abi more.

"Rai, get away from her," she said. "She's no good. She led them here, there's no other explanation."

"She didn't," Raimundo said. "And I'd appreciate it if you keep your opinions on my friends to yourself." Abi turned her fierce eyes back to Kimiko.

"Don't get comfortable," she said, and then she took a few steps closer so she could whisper into Kimiko's ear, "You can't have him." Then she stalked off into the trees. The whole crowd watched her go, looking stunned.

"Spicer, go after her," Raimundo ordered. Jack did as he was told without a word. Then Raimundo turned back to Kimiko and said, "I am so sorry."

"It's fine," Kimiko said, rubbing her head and wincing when she touched the place where Abi's fist had connected with her skull. "I didn't lead them here."

"I know you didn't," Raimundo said. "Abi's not usually like that. She's been acting weird ever since you got here."

"I don't really care," Kimiko said airily as she sat down on the ground.

**.:.:.:.**

Omi, Clay and Sampson sat around a fire as the day darkened to night and a chill was starting up around them. Master Fung and Dojo had already turned in for the night but the three remaining warriors had stayed up to listen to the broadcast from the stolen portable radio. It was the same thing they did every night with less and less hope and more and more mounting anxiety. There had been no mention of Kimiko's name but that did not mean it was a good thing. As the reported listed the soldiers who had died in battle in a grave voice, the warriors stared into the fire and said nothing. Omi was thinking of all those fallen soldiers who had died fighting to save the world. Clay was thinking of his father and sister in Texas, wondering whether they were still alive. Sampson was thinking of his kidnapped family and Kimiko and if he'd ever see any of them again.

"_And now, it had been reported that Wuya herself has discovered a camp hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil,"_ the reporter stated. _"The camp consisted of over two hundred wounded soldiers from all over the world and people who had lost their homes and families due to the war. It is said that the camp was run by none other than Raimundo Pedrosa, the Xiaolin Dragon of the Wind who disappeared several years ago."_

Omi and Clay stared at each other, their eyes wide with a mixture of horror and unbelievable amazement.

"_Along with Mr Pedrosa was Kimiko Tohomiko, the Xiaolin Dragon of Fire and Jack Spicer, apparent boy genius who used to work for Wuya and fled when he could not carry out her bidding any longer. It has been rumoured that Wuya has been after Raimundo Pedrosa, and when she discovered this camp it was ripped apart. Hundreds were killed but Raimundo Pedrosa was not captured."_

"Oh my god," Clay whispered. It was all any of them could manage.

**Ta-daa! I hope you all liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it haha. Fight scenes are so difficult, especially with several characters- I always tend to forget about a few of them and they're just left in limbo for a while but I try not to let that happen. I don't know when the next update will be but it will definitely be up at some point. **_**Please **_**don't forget to review so I know what your opinions are so far, I will remind you that constructive criticism is more than welcome.**


	22. The Prisoners

**This chapter is more of an interlude, just so you know what is happening with the other characters. After this chapter, shit gets real :) I hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 22**

**The Prisoners**

Bethania was thin and weak from hunger and torture but her worries did not concern her own well being. For what felt like the hundredth time (she had lost count of how many days she had actually been there) she stood at the bars of her tiny cell and questioned every guard who went past. "Where are my brothers?" she asked as a woman with short black hair and a missing eye went past. The woman ignored her and simply went on her way down the narrow corridor. The corridor was dank and smelled of shit and blood and death. There was only a single line of cells, all about two metres by two metres in size and consisting of a sheet on the floor to sleep on and a bucket in the corner to do your business in, facing a blank stone wall. Bethania assumed this layout was so that the prisoners could not see each other and therefore could not communicate with each other without speaking, which could be heard by the guards dotted here and there along the corridor. As far as Bethania was aware, there were no other prisoners on this corridor but she was not stupid enough to assume these were the only cells in the whole palace so she had not given up hope on the survival of her siblings.

"Hey!" she yelled when the woman with the dark hair and missing eyes made her way back. This time the woman stopped and looked at her menacingly. "Tell me where my brothers are."

"That's none of your business," the woman said. She had an unusually deep voice.

"Is it my fucking business," Bethania spat, unable to help herself. "They're my little brothers. Tell me if they're still fucking alive you bitch!" She regretted the way she had spoken immediately after the words had left her mouth because the woman's eyebrows rose and her lips twisted into a threatening smile.

"Do you want to take this out with Wuya?" the woman asked.

"No," Bethania said, fighting to keep the quaver out of her voice so the woman would not know she was scared. "Just _please_ tell me where they are!"

"Wuya keeps them separate. That's all I know. Not that I'd tell you anything else if I _did_ know."

"Well doesn't she keep everyone separate? I mean surely I'm not the only prisoner, there's got to be more!"

"You're smarter than you look," the woman grinned. Bethania simply looked at the woman, waiting for her to speak again. The woman did not however, and she continued off down the corridor. Bethania wrapped her hands around the bars of her cell and pressed her head against them so she could watch the woman. When the woman was out of sight Bethania continued to stand by her cell door and gaze up and down the corridor as far as she could. She heard a door slamming somewhere above her and then everything was completely silent. That was what scared her the most. How utterly silent everything was. Almost as if there was not a single thing alive but her.

Seconds dragged by like minutes and minutes dragged by like hours and still Bethania waited. At last there was the sound of approaching footsteps again and a woman with long silver and icy blue eyes so pale they could have been white came into view. She stood with her hands on her hips looking through the bars and Bethania noticed that her fingernails were very long and pointed so that they looked like claws. "I hear you've been asking questions about your family," she woman said.

"Yes. Have you come to answer them? Because if you haven't I don't give a shit what you've come to say," Bethania said.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not here to talk. I'm here to shut you up," the woman said. She unlocked the cell door, pushed it back on its tracks and stepped inside, her icy eyes never leaving Bethania's. Bethania took a step back, realising too late what was about to happen to her. The woman held out her right hand, palm facing up and a revolving ball of what appeared to green light began to materialise above it and then Bethania began to scream.

**.:.:.:.**

Bethania Pedrosa's agonised screams carried through the palace to a small, dark room where two boys sat huddled together in the far corner. The dark was almost complete but their eyes had adjusted in the long period of time they had spent trapped inside and they were able to see the two guards stationed by the locked door before them. Carlos Pedrosa looked at his twin brother, tears standing out in his eyes and mouthed, "That's Bethania." Reynaldo Pedrosa nodded, his own green eyes wide with fright, his ears full of the sounds of his older sisters screams and pleads. Out of the darkness, a foot connected with Reynaldo's head and it rocked backwards, hitting the stone wall behind him. He felt fresh blood trickling down the back of his head but he did not cry out. He was used to it now.

"Stop talking to each other," a voice that sounded only vaguely human growled. The Pedrosa twins looked down at the stone floor. Reynaldo felt the back of his head and felt the sting of the open wound when his fingers touched it. When he looked at his fingers they were smeared with a dark liquid that could be nothing other than blood. He wiped his fingers on his already filthy pants as his mind found with itself over Bethania's screaming. He wanted her to stop screaming because he couldn't bear the sound of hearing his older sister being tortured, but at the same time, if she stopped screaming, who was to say she hadn't stopped because she was dead? The Pedrosa twins glanced at each other with identical mixed expressions of relief and worry before returning their glaze to the blood stained stone floor.

**.:.:.:.**

Virginia sat on the sheet that posed as a bed on the floor of her cell, hugging her knees, listening to the sounds of screaming echoing down the hall. They were different screams from the last ones. The other ones had ended fifteen minutes ago (although Virginia had no sense of time anymore so she did not know that) and these new screams had begun just several minutes ago. It sounded like an interrogation because although no speaking could be heard, the screaming would stop for a while and then begin again.

Virginia had been thinking about the two promises made to her by two different people; that they would come back for her. She was growing less and less believing everyday and had almost given up all together by then. She didn't blame them. If she did ever get out of here, she'd never set foot near the place again, especially not to save one measly girl. As her trust in those promises ebbed away, and growing surety that any day soon she was going to die in that same stinking cell flooded her mind. She had acknowledged this fate with weary acceptance and now spent every day waiting for her death, feeling that it was more and more welcome with each second she spent sat this way in the corner of her cell in this dingy dungeon. She passed the time by escaping into dream world; a world where the war had never happened and she and her boyfriend were still on holiday in Australia. She ignored the guards as they patrolled the corridor and sneered at her through the bars.

She thought about when she had been a young girl growing up in New York City. She thought about how thrilled she had been when she had gotten her first job in the local supermarket. All that time she had never known her life was leading to this. She had never known she was going to die, so starved and beaten she was barely recognisable, in a tiny cell that reeked of her own urine and blood.

Virginia glanced up as the sound of footsteps paused outside of her cell. She brushed lank red hair from her sunken eyes and gazed up at the woman with the long silver hair she knew to be called Alexis. Alexis' icy eyes were alive with anger. "You haven't got long left have you?" Alexis asked maliciously. Virginia let her gaze drop back to the stained floor of her cell.

**.:.:.:.**

Victoria Page was held in a cell further down the corridor from Virginia. Until recently her mother and father had been in the same cell but they had both been dragged away for questioning on their son and his new friends. Now the air was filled with Emma Page's agonised screams and Carl Page's screams of terror and fury. Victoria herself had not made a sound as the screams hacked at her ears making her want to cry. But she didn't. She would not show weakness. As of yet, she had not been hurt but she knew it was only a matter of time before they tortured her for answers too.

Virginia's cell was on the same side of the corridor as Victoria's so she could not see her, but exactly opposite Victoria was a cell containing a man with long black hair, yellow cat's eyes and pointed teeth and he wore strange armour. He had been sat on the floor of his cell in a meditating pose with his eyes closed and his head down for a long time and he had not spoken once since Victoria and her family were brought in. She was intrigued by this man however. There was something about his fierce yet calm eyes and the relaxed ways he took taunts from the guards that amazed her and she could not help but watch him.

"These bars are unbreakable," the man said, making Victoria jump slightly. It was as if he had known, even with his eyes closed, that she was watching him. "Otherwise I'd have been out weeks ago." His eyes opened and fixed on Victoria. "You're the new Xiaolin monk's sister." Victoria noticed that this was a statement, not a question.

"I'm Victoria," she nodded. "Who are you?"

"My name is not important," that man said. "What is important, Victoria, is whether you are willing to risk your life to rescue your family?" Victoria was taken aback by the question but she nodded once. The man grinned, flashing his sharp, fang-like teeth. "Well then, I think I can help you. Or rather, we can help each other."

The screams of Emma Page had stopped again and Victoria's heart seemed to stop with them as it had every time so far, always thinking she would never see her mother again. There was a few minutes silence and then the screams began again. That was when Alexis entered the dungeon. Victoria could not see her yet but she could hear her. "You haven't got long left have you?" Alexis said to the girl in the cell further down. The girl made no reply and Alexis laughed cruelly and began to walk down the corridor again. Victoria heard her footsteps getting closer. The man with the cat's eyes gave her a meaningful look; "You know the plan," that look said. Victoria got to her feet, tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and approached the cell bars. The woman came into view and her cold eyes narrowed when she saw Victoria waiting for her. "What do you want?" she snapped.

"What are you doing to my mam?" Victoria demanded. "Leave her alone, she doesn't know anything!"

"Oh but she's bound to have _some_ information she can cough up. If not, we're moving onto you. Do _you_ know anything about those Xiaolin Warriors and their missing friend, little girl?" Alexis asked silkily.

"I know you almost had their "missing friend"," Victoria shrugged. "But that's it." Alexis seemed angered by this comment, as if she had personally been accused of messing up and failing. Behind Alexis, Victoria could see the man's outstretched arm and she focused all of her willpower on not looking at him. If Alexis caught her looking and turned around it would all be over. Alexis did not notice however and within seconds the man's arm was slipping back between the bars of his cell, clutching something.

"Listen you disgusting little brat," Alexis spat at Victoria. "You keep your mouth shut about things you've got no idea about!" and she stormed off. When she had gone, Victoria looked back at the man who was holding up the cell keys, a smirk on his face. Victoria smiled. He slipped his arm back through the bars and unlocked his own cell and then he unlocked Victoria's.

"We must be quick before someone comes," he said urgently and hurried down the corridor. Victoria ran after him, neither of them sparing a single glance or thought for Virginia as she watched them leave. "We cannot rescue your parents while they are in the company of Wuya's forces. We must leave now and return when we have a plan." And so, as if by a miracle, they escaped Wuya's palace without any hassle at all and ran as fast as they could into the mountains where they found a cave and settled down as the sky darkened. Victoria breathed deeply the fresh air and it left wonderful in her lungs after so long in that dark stinking dungeon.

The man set up a small fire to warm themselves by as night fell and Victoria found her eyes drawn to him as they had been in the cells. As the light from the flames danced on his face, casting strange shadows on it, she said, rather timidly, "Since I've just put my life in your hands, will you please tell me your name?"

"I am Chase Young," the man said.

**.:.:.:.**

The night was chilly but not entirely cold and the sky was scattered with twinkling stars. Sampson sat beneath these stars, gazing into the distance but seeing nothing. The others had gone to bed after a hard day's training but Sampson could not sleep. His mind was preoccupied. Raimundo had been alive all this time and Kimiko had finally found him. That was wonderful! But he could not help but feel...bitter? Resentful? And perhaps a little bit guilty. He knew why he felt these feelings but he refused to voice them to anyone; even to himself. He hoped Kimiko was okay. He hoped his family were okay. There had been no news on them so he assumed they were still in Wuya's clutches...if they were still alive. He ran his fingers through his blonde hair anxiously. He had avoided thinking like that for so long but now that they had lost another Xiaolin warrior and now that night had descended and he was left alone with his troubling, maddening thoughts, it was avoidable no longer. He knew that he would be terrified about his family no matter what but he also knew that if Kimiko had been here, as she had been that night in Zhengzhou, he would feel at least a little comforted. He wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his head on his arms, his eyes closed as a light breeze gusted by and sighed. Resigned, he was forced to admit it; he had fallen for her.

**So there you go. Can't promise the next chapter will be up soon but I'm doing my best. I hope you liked this and don't forget to review.**


	23. Page Runs

**Chapter 23**

**Page Runs**

"Master Fung, I am afraid we have a problem," Omi said gravely. It felt like a repeat of history. It almost was. The sun was just peeking over the horizon and as always, Omi was up at the crack of dawn. Only this time he had an unpleasant surprise waiting for him. Sampson's tent had been left open and Sampson was not inside. Omi had gone looking for him and had not found him. Now he had to accept that Sampson had gone and Omi was sure he had gone to find his family.

Master Fung simply looked at Sampson's empty tent with his sad blue eyes and Clay stood behind him, tousle haired from sleep and crestfallen at the sight of the deserted tent. "Just like Kimiko," he whispered. Master Fung inclined his head slightly but did not look away from the tent. "What do we do?" Clay asked.

"We must find him before Wuya does," Master Fung said.

"Or before he finds Wuya," Omi said quietly.

**.:.:.:.**

Sampson was lost. He had been searching desperately for Wuya's palace all night but had not seen so much as a spire in the distance. He wasn't sure how far away from it he was. To be honest, he wasn't sure where he was at all. He regretted his rash decision to leave the other warriors but he knew they would not have let him go looking for his family if he had voiced this will. So he had left in the night. They would probably know of his absence now. Omi was going to kill him when he saw them again...if he saw them again. Sampson shook his head, his long blonde hair falling into his eyes. He couldn't let himself think like that. He scanned the sky for any signs of Dojo in case they were looking for him. He thought they might after what had happened to Kimiko although he wasn't sure he wanted to be found. He didn't want to be lost of course, but if they found him they would not let him go looking for Wuya again and it might already be too late. That was another thought he didn't want to think and a sick feeling gripped his stomach as he pushed it to the back of his mind and continued walking.

It was the second time since this war began he had gone looking for his family, not knowing whether they were dead or alive. He ran a hand through his hair and walked a little faster, never taking his eyes for the horizon, praying for any sign of the palace. _"Never thought I'd be this desperate to find out where Wuya lives,"_ Sampson thought and then laughed. The sound was odd to his own ears but at the same time it was almost soothing. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he had not noticed that the same crow had been following him for the last half an hour, fluttering along in his wake.

**.:.:.:.**

Victoria Page sat on the hard rock floor of the little cave as Chase Young meditated by the fire. She watched him interestedly, wanting to speak but not sure if he would respond. "How come..." she began tentatively. His yellow eyes opened and fell upon her but he did not speak. "How come you got caught by Wuya? Why did she want you?"

"She didn't want me," Chase said. "She just wanted me out of the way. She was worried I would beat her."

"So you want to stop her ruling the world as well?" Victoria asked.

"In a way. I think she is too incompetent to rule a world. The place would be in ruins within a week. However, if _I_ were to rule the world everything would run accordingly."

"So..._you_ want to take over the world?" Victoria said nervously.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" Chase said. Victoria just looked at him. And so he told her. And Victoria Page listened with mounting horror until she wanted to run as far away from him as possible and never look back. Except she was glued to the spot with fear and could do nothing but stare at him, her mouth slightly open, as he calmly went back to his meditating. She felt hypnotised.

A branch in the fire gave a loud snap and that brought her back to her sense. Victoria rose slowly to her feet, shaking violently with fear all over, her eyes never leaving him. She half expected Chase to lunge and attack her but he did nothing. He did not even move. She took a few tentative steps backwards then turned and broke into a wild run, putting as much distance between herself and Chase Young as possible and not caring where she was going. Chase opened his eyes and watched her retreat, her feet kicking up dust and her blonde hair streaming out behind her. He smirked, amused, and then closed his eyes again.

Victoria did not know for how long she ran, or how far she ran she just knew that she had never run so much in her life and probably never would again and she could not go any further. She knew one other thing too; she was well and truly lost. She stood with her hands on her knees, gasping as each breath felt like a dagger in her throat and her vision was blurred as her head was spinning. She collapsed onto the filthy ground and lay there for a long time. She lay with her eyes closed, trying to keep her mind from wandering back to the issue of where she was, how she was going to find help and what she was going to do if she _couldn't_ find help. That was when she heard approaching footsteps. Her eyes flew open and she sat up, staring wildly around, her heart racing. She did not know whether to stay still and hope she was not found or run for it again. Then a figure appeared and Victoria had never been happier to see her older brother in her whole life. "Sammy!" she cried, jumping to her feet, running the few feet between them and throwing her arms around him. Sampson laughed, obviously relieved.

"I thought you were..." he trailed off, hugging his sister, unable to bring himself to say what he was going to say when a thought occurred to him. "Vicky? ...How come you're on your own? Where's mam and dad?"

"I...I left them," Victoria said quietly, releasing Sampson and staring guiltily at the ground. "There was a man...he said...he..." her voice shook. She was on the verge of tears. She told Sampson all about the promise Chase Young had made to her to help rescue her mother and father and how he had used her to help him escape and explained who he really was. How she had ran from him. By the time she had finished speaking, tears were coursing down her cheeks.

"Hey," Sampson said softly, pulling his sister into another hug. "It wasn't your fault. At least we know mam and dad are alive right? And now we're out we can get _them_ out can't we?" Victoria sniffed and wiped her tears away and looked up at Sampson with sorrowful eyes as a crow took flight behind them.

**.:.:.:.**

Hours of fruitless searching had passed and the remaining warriors were exhausted. They had flown all over China on Dojo and had searched for miles and miles on foot and had not found a single trace of him.

"It is hopeless," Omi sighed.

"You don't suppose...Sampson got to Wuya's palace and she..." Clay said. He broke off at the stern look Master Fung gave him.

"We must not give up," Master Fung said.

"Maybe he's trying to get to Brazil...to look for Kimiko?" Dojo suggested.

"But how?" Clay asked. "How will he get to Brazil from here?"

"Kimiko managed it," Dojo said. "It's probably quite easy to be honest what with all the battles going on I expect border control is very lax at the minute. All he'd have to do is sneak onto a plane or cargo ship."

"Or he could have been taken there by someone else. Brazil _is_ in the hands of Wuya herself," Omi said.

"Dojo...take us to Brazil," said Clay, sounding resigned.

"Perhaps, while we are there, we should look for another missing friend too," Master Fung said, a twinkle in his eyes. Omi, Clay and Dojo could do nothing to stop the grins that spread across their faces.

**.:.:.:.**

Chase was still meditating in the cave, the fire dying before him, when the crow finally returned to him and alighted on his shoulder, whispering in his ear. "So the foolish girl and her brother plan to break into the palace anyways? The Dragon of the Wind never lasts long does he? I expect Sampson Page is nothing compared to Raimundo's strength, he'll be slaughtered."

**Apologies for yet another short chapter but there wasn't much to write. Then next ne should be longer I think. I hope...maybe. If not, the one after will be. Don't forget to review please!**


	24. Wind Returns

**I quite like this chapter. It's three and a bit pages on Microsoft word so it's not really that long but it's got everything it needed to have it in. I'm sure you'll like it. I'd also like to thank **_XemlovezyouX11233_**for being interested enough in this story to actually message me and ask me to hurry up with it, all I can say is I appreciate it so much and I'm very sorry my updates are so slow**

**Chapter 24**

**Wind Returns**

They had been right about the security around Brazil's border being lax but that did not mean security inside the country was just as bad. Since Raimundo's sighting and escape, security had actually intensified and when Omi, Clay, Master Fung and Dojo finally got inside they were forced to travel at night. They could not speak to anyone- not even to ask for directions- for fear that the person they chose to ask was actually working for Wuya. When it was cloudy, Dojo offered to fly them and use the clouds for cover but, Omi pointed out, it would keep them hidden but would hinder their search for Raimundo. And so they wandered through empty unfamiliar streets in the dead of night, making as little noise as possible.

It was with little relief when they finally reached the Amazon rainforest, knowing that they still had a very slim chance of finding Raimundo in there if, of course, he was still hidden in the rainforest. Bearing these things in mind along with a powerful desire to find their lost friend, the remaining Xiaolin monks stepped into the trees.

Two days passed by and the only other living things they came across were the rainforest's wildlife. They slept in their tents and built small fires and cooked their meals in silence, none daring to voice their belief that they were still never going to find Raimundo. They also had yet to find Sampson and as each day had passed they felt less and less sure that he had decided to go after Kimiko.

As the sun set through the roof of green leaves on the third day, casting everything below that green roof into ominous shadow, the warriors were sitting around their little fire, staring into the flames, each lost in their own thoughts. The only sound since the sun had descended was the crackle of the dancing flames. They had sat that way for a long time, until Clay finally broke the silence.

"Do you reckon Wuya got him after all?" he asked. Three sets of accusing eyes fell on Clay, as if none of them could believe he had dared speak this dreadful fear out loud.

"Actually...I was thinking..." Dojo said slowly. "Maybe it _wasn't_ Raimundo they saw in here. The only people who actually saw the real thing was Wuya and her followers. Anyone else who heard it will have just heard rumours, and you know what rumours are like." This time the accusing eyes fell on him and he averted his own eyes to the ground to avoid them and fell silent.

"Even if it wasn't Raimundo, somethin' sure as hell happened in here and we'll find whoever is left from it," Clay said after a moment's pause and Omi nodded approvingly. Yet another silence fell but now that fears had been voiced, it felt like a more relaxed silence. After about half an hour of this, Master Fung began to say he was heading off for the night when he immediately fell silent and cocked his head to one side. Omi, Clay and Dojo watched him curiously, and then Dojo's eyes widened and he seemed to be listening to something too. Clay was the last to hear it; approaching footsteps. The four of them glanced at each other, not sure whether to hide or remain where they were. Not sure whether the approaching footsteps belonged to friend or foe. As these thoughts were occurring, they realised something else. As the sound of footsteps grew closer, they seemed to expand, so they no longer belonged to one person, but to many.

A second later the large group came into view and the warriors around the camp fire were able to see at least sixty people. They looked very out of place after the warriors had been wandering through deserted trees for three days. In the lead of the group was a Chinese girl with her hair tied up in a long plait. On one side of her was Kimiko Tohomiko. On the other side, holding the Chinese girl's hand, was Raimundo Pedrosa. There was only a few seconds hesitation in which the shock and overwhelming gladness of seeing Raimundo again sank into Omi, Clay, Master Fung and Dojo, before Omi got o his feet and raced to Raimundo and threw himself at the Dragon of the Wind in the biggest hug he had ever given in his life, whilst squealing with delight. Raimundo laughed as he hugged Omi, just as pleased to see Omi as Omi was to see him. Finally Omi pulled away and allowed Clay to embrace Raimundo as Dojo slithered around Raimundo's shoulders like a snake.

**.:.:.:.**

Sampson and Victoria camped out. Victoria didn't like this arrangement as she had never like camping- she had burst into tears once as a little girl when the family had gone on a camping holiday and could not sleep. She had wailed and wailed until they were forced to drive all the way home at three o'clock in the morning. Sampson however had spent a good deal of time camping out recently and had no problem with it. He only wished he had brought his tent with him when he had left the other warriors.

Now the two siblings sat around a crackling fire as Sampson roasted a rabbit he had managed to catch.

"Is it going to be safe to eat Sammy?" Victoria asked, eyeing the rabbit. "It's not like...diseased or anything?"

"It'll be fine," Sampson sighed as his stomach rumbled. There had been more than a few occasions already when he'd wished he'd never left the warriors but then he reminded himself that if he hadn't he never would have found his little sister.

When the rabbit was cooked they ate it in silence, Victoria with a look of disgust on her face but she did not complain. When they were finished eating, the sky had begun to darken above them.

"What are we going to do?" Victoria asked.

"We're going to find my friends then we're going to find Wuya's palace and save our parents," Sampson said defiantly. Just from his tone of voice, Victoria knew Sampson could not be dissuaded her brother from this plan, even though she knew he did not stand a chance against Wuya and her army; Victoria had seen what they could do. Had heard her own mother screaming in agony as she was tortured. Sampson seemed to have read the look on her face because he grinned reassuringly and said, "It's going to be okay Vicky." Victoria returned his smile, but she was not reassured.

**.:.:.:.**

Raimundo told his story for the second time as the reunited warriors sat around a camp fire in the quickly darkening rainforest. When he was done, they told him about what had been going on at the Temple during his absence. That was when the subject of Bethania and the rest of his family was raised.

"She helped you?" Raimundo asked.

"Well, she tried," Kimiko shrugged. "She's nice. So is your mam." She smiled.

"You've met her as well?"

"Yeah, I came here a while ago to ask if they knew anything about you. I thought if I was going to take looking for you seriously the best place to start would be your family," Kimiko explained. Then her face fell. "They're going through hell Rai. Wuya's taken your twin brothers. I think she's hoping someone in your family knows where you are and if she scares them enough they'll tell her, but none of them do, do they?"

"I...I didn't go to see them to avoid putting them in danger. But they're in danger anyways aren't they?" Raimundo said bitterly.

"Well...Wuya already knows you're alive and so do they probably...go and see them," Kimiko said softly. "They need you Rai." Raimundo looked at Kimiko for a few seconds, and then nodded.

It took a long time to leave the rainforest and get to Raimundo's home. Although they were still afraid of flying in case they were caught, every ten minutes Dojo would peek above the trees to make sure they were headed in the right direction and not just going in circles.

Finally, they arrived at the front door. Raimundo stood before it in the dark night air, the rest of the warriors just behind him. He reached out a hand, hesitated, and then knocked three times. He wondered what his parents would think, hearing someone knocking on their door in the dead of night. Seconds seemed to drag out like minutes. Then the door was pulled open a crack and a familiar wide brown eye in the gap. That eye fell on Raimundo and grew wider.

"Rai?" Yarah Pedrosa whispered, disbelievingly.

"Hello," Raimundo said softly, a small smile gracing his scarred face. The door was thrown wide and Yarah threw her arms around her long lost son as tears welled in her eyes.

"You're alive!" she gasped as the tears began to cascade down her cheeks. Before they attracted attention, Raimundo led his weeping mother and the rest of the Xiaolin monks inside the house and closed the door.

In the dim living room, Yarah wept over her son more. Once she had finally recovered they conversed in rapid Portuguese and then Yarah's eyes fell on Kimiko and, without warning, she threw herself onto Kimiko in a hug almost as strong as the one she had given Raimundo.

"You found him!" she cried. "Just like you promised you would!"

"Of course I did," Kimiko said, laughing a little as she awkwardly returned the hug. Yarah let her go and then hurried from the room. "Where's she going?" Kimiko whispered.

"I have an idea," Raimundo said. A few minutes later Yarah returned, followed by a boy who looked a few years younger than Raimundo and two girls who looked a few years older. All three of them hugged Raimundo as their mother had done and then Raimundo introduced them as Thiago, Ema and Vanessa. They too began to chat wildly in Portuguese. While this happened, Yarah scanned the warriors as if she had only just noticed they were there and then turned slowly to Kimiko.

"Where's Bethania?" she asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing?" Kimiko responded uneasily. "Bethania left us to come home ages ago."

"...She never got here," Yarah said. Now all eyes were on Yarah and Kimiko.

"She...you never saw her..." Kimiko said. "...Oh my god."

"Wuya," Raimundo said simply. "If she's took my sister as well as my fucking brother's I'm going to...hang on...where's dad?" Thiago, Vanessa and Ema hung their heads and Yarah's eyes welled with tears again. Kimiko suddenly wished she was anywhere but here.

"After...after Wuya found you...and then lost you again...she came back here and tried to get him to tell her where you were and...she..." Yarah was unable to finish the sentence but she didn't need to. Raimundo simply stared at his mother for a moment and then lunged for the front door. Reacting in a split second, Kimiko, Omi and Clay seized Raimundo and pulled him back. He did not come quietly, as he desperately tried to fight them off, screaming in a language they could not understand.

"Raimundo!" Omi said shrilly. "If you try to fight Wuya in like this you will surely be defeated!" Finally Raimundo calmed down, but there were tears drying on his cheeks. Feeling uncomfortable seeing Raimundo crying, Omi and Clay looked away. Kimiko, however, went to him and hugged him.

"We are going to the Palace though," Kimiko said quietly, her arms around Raimundo. "And we're going to beat her and free every prisoner she's taken."

"But...how?" Clay asked. "She's far too strong for just us. She'd kill us in seconds."

"Not if we had an army like she does," Omi said, brightening suddenly.

"Well...we don't, kid," Dojo said.

"We do!" Omi insisted, apparently disappointed that they hadn't gotten the hint immediately. "Those soldiers Raimundo and Abi are looking after in the rainforest."

"None of them are fit for fighting yet Omi," Raimundo said sadly.

"Ah, but we have this," Omi said with savage triumph. He dug his hand into his robes and pulled out the Healing Hand of Dashi. Grins spread on Kimiko, Clay, Omi, Dojo and Master Fung's faces.

"Omi, you're a genius!" Kimiko squealed, hugging the small monk.

**I hope you enjoyed it. I've noticed some people are adding this story to their favourites or putting it on story alert but aren't reviewing it and I'd just like to say that I'd honestly appreciate it so much if you'd take just a minute of your time to tell me what your thoughts and opinions are, it'll help me so much as I plan on trying to get a book published and I need to know when my strengths and weaknesses are. Thank you so much.**


	25. War Against the Palace

**Well, it took me a good few hours, but it's four and a third pages long so I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 25**

**War Against the Palace**

The newly healed refugees stared in amazement as their wounds closed up before their eyes and energy seemed to rush into their bodies. The little girl Raimundo cad carried away from danger when Wuya had found their hiding place squealed with delight as her father's badly healed broken arm painlessly repaired itself, straitening the bone and making the arm itself appear to lengthen until it was the same length as the other arm.

"Fellas," Clay said, standing before them. "We're going to fight Wuya. And we _will_ beat her!" The onlooking crowd cheered. Kimiko glanced sideways at Abi and Raimundo and caught them kissing. She looked away quickly, her cheeks flushing.

And so they packed weapons, remaining Shen Gong Wu and medical supplies and set out for Wuya's palace. Dojo made several return trips to carry all the warriors to the palace. Jack Spicer had flown alongside Dojo when Omi, Clay, Kimiko, Raimundo, Master Fung, Abi and several other warriors were flown over ("No way am I getting on that dragon, Cheese Ball, not after the last time!" he had exclaimed when Omi suggested that Jack go with them.)

Now they were all gathered outside the palace, faces pale, hearts pounding with adrenaline and a feeling that bordered on fear. But there was another thing they all felt too; determination. And it was that determination that drove them on.

"Now remember," Raimundo told the silently watching crowd. He had waited for Omi to give the instructions as Omi had always done, before remembering that he was the leader now and they all- Omi included- had been waiting for _him_ to give instructions. "If you get injured, try your absolute best to get back out here where Dojo will be waiting with The Healing Hand of Dashi. He'll be hiding because Wuya's people are bound to notice that we keep running outside and then coming back perfectly healed, so just call for him and he'll come." Dojo nodded to the crowd a little. "That's it really," Raimundo said. "All I can say is...do your best..."

The warriors watched Raimundo for a few more seconds and then he marched through the crowd and, with one hesitant glance at them over his shoulder, pushed open the doors to Wuya's palace.

"What a way to start a fight," one of the newly recovered soldiers muttered. "Just walk right through the front door and announce our arrival."

"There isn't really any other way," Abi said. The soldier fell silent. Raimundo stepped in to the large entrance hall of the palace and, almost reluctantly, his miniscule army followed. The entrance hall was large and bare. Doors led off to other rooms and corridors on all sides and before them was a large stone staircase. It was from the top of this staircase that a voice drifted down. "Pedrosa," it said. Every head in the room turned in the direction of that voice as footsteps began to echo around the stone hall. Jack Spicer cowered behind Clay. Wuya descended the stairs and stopped half way down, her malicious green eyes fixed in Raimundo's. "You escaped me once. You won't escape me again," she hissed. There was a bang and four doors, two on each side of the room, burst open and Wuya's forces spilled out of them. More of her soldiers rushed down the stairs at the Xiaolin warriors as Wuya stood with her eyes on Raimundo, as if marking him.

Kimiko immediately sprang into action as she saw Ty pushing his way roughly through the crowd, his greedy eyes set on her. She was afraid to use any fire attacks at the minute as there were too many of their own soldiers about and she feared she'd hurt them too and so she took up a stance and greeted Ty with a powerful punch in the jaw. He was thrown backwards, knocking over a girl with long brown hair who was battling Alexis. While Ty was down, Kimiko aimed a strong kick at the side of his head. Droplets of blood splashed her shoe. Ty was momentarily dazed, but within seconds he had recovered and jumped to his feet, his manic grin plastered on his face. He returned her punch with a swiftness that left her startled and sent her staggering backwards into Abi.

Omi was sending waves of water at two of Wuya's soldiers left had them pinned and suffocating against the stone wall.

Clay had caused several chunks of the surrounding walls to break away as zoom at Wuya's soldiers, knocking several of them unconscious and shattering one unfortunate soldier's skull, killing him almost instantly, before Clay himself was wrestled to the ground by a tough man with a bald head and crazed, blue eyes and they brawled on the floor.

The battle had begun.

**.:.:.:.**

Sampson and Victoria Page wandered through China as they had done every day since they had gotten lost. They were disheartened but neither spoke their thoughts that they would never find their way out loud. For days Sampson had hoped he would see Dojo flying ahead as the other warriors searched for them, but after so many days of Dojo-less skies, he had given up. They had never liked him anyway. He had finally begun to curse himself for leaving them.

"What are we going to do?" Victoria asked, for the only purpose of breaking the silence.

"It's going to be fine," Sampson answered her for what felt like the hundredth time since they had gotten lost. Always "it'll be fine" or "don't worry about it" when they both knew he didn't believe his own words anymore.

"What's that?" Victoria asked, pointing into the distance where what looked like a massive stone spike pointed cruelly at the sky. Sampson stared at it blankly for a moment and then, as they got a few steps closer and more of this huge stone tower was visible, comprehension dawned.

"But that's...Vicky...that's Wuya's palace!" he cried. "We're not lost!" He looked at his little sister and found she did not share his joy. His smile slipped off his face as she stared at him with cold eyes.

"Great, so we can kill ourselves a little bit quicker," she said.

"What?" Sampson asked.

"We go in there on our own and we're going to be killed in seconds," Victoria said. Sampson just stared at her, nonplussed. "Please tell me you won't go in there," Victoria said.

"I have to!" Sampson argued.

"Then I'll have lost my parents and my brother!" Victoria cried hysterically. "I'm not going in and if you do you'll die!" Sampson looked at her for a few seconds and then turned and began to run in the direction of the palace.

"Sampson!" Victoria screamed after him. "What are you doing?" She sighed, aggravated, and then began to run after him.

Panting, Sampson stopped before the towering stone palace, and gazed up at it, awestruck. Hurried footsteps behind him told him Victoria had caught up. She too, stood in the shadow thrown onto the ground by the stone palace, staring up at it, her mouth slightly open.

"I didn't realise how big it was," she whispered. "When we got out we just ran. I never stopped to look back. Forget getting lost in China, we're going to get lost in this bloody building!" Before he could help himself, Sampson was doubled over with laughter. Victoria glanced sideways at him, an uncertain smile on her lips as if she was not sure whether he was laughing at her or with her. Although she certainly wasn't laughing.

Sampson's laughter dried up immediately when the one of the double doors to the palace opened and there the immediate sound of uproar inside. A man staggered out and slammed the door shut. The sound was immediately and completely cut off. The man was rather tall and extremely skinny. He had long brown hair and his clothes were torn and bloodstained. He had sustained a serious head wound and blood was flowing in rivers down the left side of his face. His dark green eyes looked dazed and unfocused. He didn't seem to notice Sampson and Victoria.

"Dojo!" the man called breathlessly before staggering backwards, tripping over his own feet and landing hard on the ground. Dojo the dragon slithered straight past Sampson and Victoria, a panic stricken expression on his face. In his little arms he held The Healing Hand of Dashi.

"Kid!" Dojo said. "Hang on kid. Healing Hand of Dashi!" Gold light seemed to ooze from the Shen Gong Wu, as it had done back in Essex when Sampson had gone to find his family and had run into one of The Dark Queens mysterious warriors. The gold light seemed to envelope the man on the ground and then spiralled around his head and was sucked into his head wound like water down a drain. The split skull and skin healed and the blood flow stopped. The man lay on the ground for a moment, as if regaining his senses and then he sat up and swept blood-caked sweaty hair from his face and wiped blood onto his sleeve. That was when he and Dojo noticed the siblings. The man got shakily to his feet and then took several steps towards Sampson and Victoria.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Sampson Page. Who are you?" Sampson asked. Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught Dojo with a smug grin on his face.

"Raimundo Pedrosa," the man answered. Sampson's mouth dropped open.

"They...they found you?" Sampson stammered.

"Clearly," Raimundo answered. It could have been considered as sarcasm had a large, warm grin not spread on Raimundo's blood streaked and scarred face. "It's great to finally meet you," he extended his hand. Sampson shook Raimundo's hand, his mouth still agape, his eyes full of disbelief.

"This is my sister," Sampson said hurriedly, pulling himself together. "Victoria."

"Nice to meet you," Raimundo grinned at Victoria. She was powerless against that charismatic grin, despite the blood that covered half of Raimundo's face. Sampson had been so convinced that if he ever met Raimundo, they would not get along together. He was surprised when he realised he liked Raimundo immediately.

"Everyone's fighting in there," Raimundo said nonchalantly, cocking a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the palace. "Are you coming in?"

"Yes! She's got our parents," Sampson said.

"She's got my sister and two of my brothers," Raimundo nodded, sympathising with Sampson. "Right, if you get hurt, come out here where Dojo can heal you," Raimundo said, rather businesslike.

"What about me?" Victoria asked.

"She can't fight. She's sixteen!" Sampson said.

"You can wait out here with Dojo," Raimundo said directly to Victoria. "He'll be hiding so no one on Wuya's side knows where he is and if he _does _get seen he can carry you away somewhere safe. You'll be okay with him." Victoria nodded and smiled again. It was hard not to smile around Raimundo. She turned to her brother and hugged him.

"You'd better be careful Sammy," she whispered.

"Stop worrying!" Sampson said. She pulled away, a forced smile on her face. She watched Raimundo and Sampson head back to the doors to the palace. Sampson looked back at her and raised his hand in a wave. She returned it, a sinking feeling in her stomach as Raimundo pushed the door open again and the deafening sounds of the battle spilled out into the air. Then they were gone. Victoria felt sure she was never going to see her big brother alive again.

**.:.:.:.**

Inside the palace was bedlam. The battle raged in every room. Walls had been knocked in. In several cases the ceiling had collapsed and crushed everyone unfortunate enough to be beneath it. The sounds of screams, shrieks, roars and the deafening bang of explosions drowned out every other sound and made Sampson unable to believe that none of this could be heard from just outside the door.

As soon as they were inside, a ball of sickly green light was thrown in their direction from the head of the stairs and Raimundo threw himself at Sampson in order to push him out of the way. Sampson yelled and toppled over. Raimundo was able to save himself from falling by throwing his weight against the wall and using it to support him. He reached out a hand and pulled Sampson to his feet. Where the green light had struck, there was a huge crater in the wall. Sampson gazed at it with horror.

"The walls are very thick," Raimundo said. He was barely audible over the noise. "You want to avoid those light balls as much as you can, that's what got me in the head." He turned just in time to see a fist flying in his direction. He ducked and kicked his leg out at the same time, catching his attacker around the ankle and knocking him over.

"Wind!" Raimundo called. A strong gust of wind caught the man lying on the floor and several other behind them and threw them across the room and into the wall. As he had been on his back, the man who had tried to punch Raimundo hit the wall head first. Blood splattered the wall and he lay on the floor before it, motionless. Sampson stared at the body uneasily.

"You've got to be prepared to kill," Raimundo said sadly. "Otherwise they'll kill you." Sampson nodded and joined the fight.

Omi, being the smallest, had managed to run between the legs of the battling crowd without receiving too many attacks. He was searching for Wuya's Shen Gong Wu. He had searched in four rooms now and had not had much luck. He was also looking for keys. He had not yet been to the dungeons but he knew the keys to the cells holding Wuya's prisoners would be down there.

He flipped over a leg as someone tried to kick him and directed a jet of ice at the owner of that leg; a woman with a tangle of dirty blonde hair. Her face was a mask of blood and there was a gaping hole in her right cheek. She was frozen solid, and Omi hurried on.

Clay, who had been the primary cause of two ceiling collapses as he used his element to fight off his attackers, was battling three of Wuya's supporters as once. Blood trickled down his face from his forehead where the skin had been split from a very strong punch and four of his fingers were broken and the knuckles were shattered from a punch of his own that had smashed his victim's skull and killed them. Now, he stamped his foot forcefully on the stone floor and it shook dangerously as if the grip of an earthquake. Nearly everyone in the room was sent toppling to the floor. Under different circumstances, the sight of everyone falling over at once would have looked comic. Clay then placed his foot on the chest of one of his attackers while they were sprawled on the ground and, with his eyes closed and a grimace on his face, he pressed down hard. He felt ribs snap beneath his foot and his victim let out an ear piercing scream and then began to choke on his own blood.

Kimiko shoved the palace doors open and felt cool air hit her flushed, sweaty and blood streaked face. She gulped in that refreshing air and then immediately began to choke. She bent over and vomited onto the ground and then staggered sideways and fell, much the same way as Raimundo had done.

"Dojo!" she called weakly. The world was spinning around her and it was slowly slipping out of focus. As if from a great distance, she heard Dojo say, "It's going to be alright, Kimiko! Healing Hand of Dashi!" Dazzling golden light filled the rotating, blurry world and then suddenly, the world came back into focus and the pain that seemed to engulf her whole body ebbed away to nothing. She remained lying on the ground for a moment longer and then she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. From there she tried to regain her feet but stumbled again. She fell backwards right into someone outstretched arms. She looked up into the face of Sampson Page, who had a huge tear across the front of his shirt. Blood was drying in the corner of his mouth and he was already developing a black eye.

"Hi," Kimiko said slowly.

"Hello," Sampson said. He helped Kimiko stand properly, steadying her when she looked as though she was about to fall for a third time. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm good now," she said. She arms blood and sweat from her face. "Where did you come from?"

"I got here a whole ago. Damn near got crushed by this huge man. He looked about the same size as Hagrid in _Harry Potter_," Sampson said. Kimiko giggled a little and then stopped herself.

"We...we should go back in," she said. Sampson nodded.

"Thanks Dojo," Kimiko said, looking down at the dragon. Dojo saluted her and together, she and Sampson rejoined the battle. No one knew it then, but it was about to become one of the most famous battles in history.

**Again, I hope you liked it. I'll update as soon as possible, but fight scenes are extremely difficult to write. Please don't forget to review!**


	26. Xiaolin Vs Heylin

**It's almost five pages so I hope it's long enough for you. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 26**

**Xiaolin Vs Heylin**

The battle raged all night and Raimundo knew this was still just the beginning. As he fought ferociously with a man with a bald head so densely covered in tattoos the there was barely an inch of clear skin on view, Raimundo knew his body was beginning to run on adrenaline alone. Dojo had hastily carried several of their soldiers, Clay and Sampson among them, to safety away from the Palace when they had collapsed due to sheer exhaustion; something the Healing Hand of Dashi could not cure. Raimundo was certain that by the end of tomorrow at the latest he would be one of the ones being flown away from the battle.

The man made a swoop with his fist, aiming for Raimundo's skull, but Raimundo was fast and he caught the man's fist in his right hand. He winced as the palm of his hand took the full power of the punch and then tried to force it away from the rest of his body. Still clutching the man's fist in on hand, he kneed the man in the stomach. The man bent over, winded, coughing, almost retching and Raimundo released his hand so he could aim a blow at the man's head. Several of Raimundo's knuckles shattered with the force of that punch but the man was knocked flat on his back where he lay motionless. Raimundo shook his hand a little and the pain flared up but he had endured worse. He ran to join the rest of the battle.

Kimiko screamed as she narrowly avoided being engulfed in the largest ball of black mist she had seen since the beginning of the war. She had thrown herself to the side when she saw the oncoming mist, rolling through the ait like a giant's bowling ball, and was now lying on her stomach on the floor, panting in fear as shock washed over her. The black mist cleared out, leaving no trace it had been there apart from the five dead bodied lying in a tangled heap on the floor. Kimiko stared at these corpses, unable to believe she had come so close to being one of them. Then she thought, _"There's only one person I know who could produce something that powerful."_ She scrambled to her feet and peered through the thin crowd and sure enough, there was Wuya, staring greedily at the five bodies. Her pride in this kill washed all shock from Kimiko's system and replaced it with fury as she recognised one of the bodies; the father of the little girl Raimundo had carried from the camp when Wuya attacked. That little girl, in the safety of a hiding place Dojo had found for all those in the camp that were unable to fight, did not know that she was now an orphan.

Wuya's eyes shifted to Kimiko's and she smiled; the same cruel smile Kimiko had seen on her face so many times before, as she was torturing or killing people...the same smile she had worn as she watched Ty torture Kimiko herself.

"You fucking bitch," Kimiko snarled under her breath. The room they were in was fairly empty, especially since Wuya had just wiped out five of its occupants, and Kimiko dodged around one battling couple and then flipped into the air, launching a fire bomb at Wuya. Wuya, who had expected this, shrieked and took several steps backwards, her eyes on the fire. Her feet tangled together and she went sprawling backwards. This fall probably saved her and Kimiko let out a long string of Japanese curses as she went for Wuya again.

**.:.:.:.**

The battle, no matter how ferocious, had so far avoided the dungeons where most of the prisoners- the only exception being the Pedrosa twins- were now held. They had all been moved to the corridor where the cells lined both walls, facing each other, when Wuya had received warning from her spies that the Xiaolin Warriors were on their way.

Bethania sat in her cell, opposite Virginia who seemed to look weaker and weaker with every hour that passed. Bethania knew the woman in cell in front of her was dying and there was nothing she could do to help her. The walls all over the palace were built of unimaginable think stone and so sound did not penetrate it very well, but echoes of the battle above could still be heard and every now and again, the ceiling shook warningly. Each time this happened, Bethania had vivid imagines of the whole thing collapsing and burying the prisoners under a mountain of heavy rubble, those who were nor mercifully crushed to death instantly suffocating in slow, unbearable agony.

In the cell next to her were a couple who claimed to be Sampson Page's parents. Bethania had told them she was Raimundo Pedrosa's older sister and they had not spoken since, as if she had offended them. Bethania, following the example set by the other prisoners she had witnessed being led into the dungeons, now sat in silence, listening to the faint explosions and screams, unable to believe they were coming from just metres away. She had noticed that her twin brothers had not been brought in here and locked up with everyone else and when she had braved questioning one of the captors, she had received only a blank stare in response. Bethania had been forced to accept, with a sinking feeling of despair and white rage, that her brothers were now dead. Dead. And the woman in the cell opposite her would soon join them. She was quite sure she herself would follow. She did not have much faith that anyone within the cells would ever be released.

**.:.:.:.**

Raimundo was pushing his way through the crowd, dodging fists and feet and ducking mystical Heylin light. He was searching for Abi. He had not seen her since the start of the battle and he was beginning to worry. She was more training in nursing than in fighting. Suddenly, there was an explosion of fiery green light and the floor beneath him began to shake. Before he had time to call upon his Wudai element and fly to safety, the centre of the floor gave way and there was a horrific shriek as bits of the stone floor thundered to the floor below like oversized hail, crushing everyone beneath. Raimundo and many others were thrown down after it. Raimundo landed hard on a boulder twice the size of him and mercifully fairly smooth. To his right was a very jagged piece of rock that looked like a stalagmite in a cave. There was a dead woman impaled on it, her guts smeared across the top as she had slid down in. Raimundo felt his stomach turn and before he could control himself he had vomited onto the boulder beneath him. He tried to get to his feet but he was shaking too badly and he fell again, his left knee connecting painfully with the side of the boulder he had tried to climb off, his right hand falling into the pool of his own sick. He grimaced. He pulled himself into a kneeling position, ignoring the pain in his knee as his did so. He wiped his hand on his pants and looked around. The ceiling collapse had killed all battles in this room and the room he had fallen from but he knew they would not take long to resume as the survivors tried to slaughter each other again.

Once he had got himself under control again, he made another attempt at getting to his feet and jumped down from the boulder onto a smaller chunk of fallen ceiling. There was a small gap in between them in which Raimundo glimpsed three fingers of a hand protruding from under the larger boulder, sprinkled with smaller stones and dust like hundreds and thousands on a cupcake. Raimundo averted his eyes quickly and clambered over the rest of the rubble until he reached the exit to the room. He ran from it without looking back. Then a thought struck him. A thought so terrible he actually stopped dead in his tracks. What if Abi had been underneath that rubble? Or Kimiko? Or Omi or Clay? Anyone at all he cared about? He forced the sickening thought from his mind and hurried on, desperately searching for his friends while trying to avoid the attacks being thrown at him.

He sprinted from room to room and found none of his friends from the Xiaolin Temple and not a trace of his girlfriend. And then he heard a familiar girlish shriek and saw Jack Spicer fall from the ceiling, one propeller of his helibot broken. Raimundo approached Jack and pulled him to his feet.

"You were trying to avoid the fight weren't you?" Raimundo said accusingly. Jack could not bring himself to meet Raimundo's eyes because the answer was yes; he was trying to keep out of range so he would not be hurt.

"You really are disgusting aren't you Spicer?" Raimundo said. "Never mind that now though. Have you seen anyone? Abi, Kimiko, Clay, Omi? Sampson? Anyone?"

"I don't think Clay and Sampson have come back yet. Kimiko was fighting Wuya a while ago but I don't know where she is now," Jack responded, pleased at the change of subject. "Haven't seen chrome dome. The midget has probably been stood on."

"Shut up Spicer," Raimundo growled warningly. A light pink tinge bloomed in Jack's paper white cheeks and he looked away again. He had never been scared of Raimundo before this war began but now he had seen what Raimundo was capable of. Without another word, Raimundo pushed passed Jack and continued searching.

**.:.:.:.**

Dojo had briefly left Victoria Page in charge of the Healing Hand of Dashi with the warning to stay out of sight unless someone on their side needed help. She hadn't seen too keen on the idea of being left alone but she had seemed pleased to be of importance to the war rather than an inconvenience. Dojo had done this so he could fly exhausted soldiers to the nearby cave he had discovered and fly the soldiers already there that were fully rested and ready to rejoin the fight back again. Clay and Sampson were among those returning to the Palace.

"Who's winning Dojo?" Clay asked.

"No idea, it's sort of hard to tell, but I'm assuming that since we've got the Healing Hand we've managed to save more of our own people than the Heylin side," Dojo said.

"I hope so," one of the others muttered. Dojo landed outside the Palace and his passengers climbed down. Victoria emerged from her hiding place to hug her brother as the others thanked Dojo and went straight back inside. While the Page siblings were focused on each other and when the rest of the soldiers had returned to the fight, Clay crouched down beside Dojo and said quietly, "You don't reckon the fight might leave the Palace do you? So we end up fighting here as well?" He gestured around him.

"It might do. I don't think it's likely as long as the Palace holds together though or unless someone tries to run and someone else goes after them," Dojo shrugged. "Just have to see what happened." Clay sighed. He nodded to Dojo and Victoria and then went back inside the Palace. A few minutes later Sampson followed.

**.:.:.:.**

Omi had entered Wuya's throne room which was eerily deserted. Sounds of the battle echoed down the corridor leading to the room but no one seemed brave enough to come any nearer. Before him where the decorated stone steps leading to the throne itself, now standing empty. The floor in front of him was stained maroon and a crawling sensation broke out over his skin because he knew that stain was blood. A _lot_ of blood. He also knew _whose_ blood it was, because Kimiko had told them about how Ty had tortured her in front of Wuya. He tore his eyes away from the sickening sight and they fell upon a safe, built into the wall.

"Oh yes, very predictable," Omi said to himself, nodding. He scurried over to it and looked at the numbers on its front for a few seconds. He knew the combination to Jack's safe was one, two, three, but he doubted Wuya was that dumb. He tried it anyways- always best to make sure- and came to no success. Sighing, he decided he was going to get nowhere if he didn't experiment, and hastily began trying numerous different combinations with the knowledge that he was going to be here for a while settling on his mind. He was so preoccupied with the safe he did not hear the footsteps enter the room and halt just inside the doorway.

"Tiger instincts, tiger instincts," he muttered to himself under his breath although his tiger instincts weren't really getting him anywhere, in fact, they were being quite useless-

There was a click.

The safe swung open and Omi stared at it, amazed and disbelieving at his rather quick success. The safe was rather small and contained an assortment of odd things; an old crown encrusted with dusty rubies, a key ring holding what looked like twenty different keys, a pair of goggles which looked curiously like Jack Spicer's and, jammed right at the back, a bulging bag. Omi reached into the safe and worked this bag free and opened it. He gave a victorious cheer; the sack was full of Shen Gong Wu. And then, making yell in surprise and confusion, the sack began to glow. He looked up and found himself staring into the ice chip-blue eyes of Alexis.

"Omi, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown," Alexis grinned.

**.:.:.:.**

Jack ran through the crowd of battling soldiers, screeching every time an attack was thrown in his direction. He was trying to push his way to the large double doors at the entrance to the Palace where he could cower in peace. That was when he ran headlong into something solid, which lashed out and threw him backwards onto is back. Then the solid-thing stood over him, looking down at him and Jack gazed back up at Wuya.

"Hello Jack," Wuya said.

"Wuya!" Jack said, forcing a wide smile onto his face. "I've been looking for you for ages! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get that Shen Gong Wu you wanted but I'm working on it!" Wuya kicked Jack on the side of the head and he screamed again. Stars danced in front of his eyes as pain flared up in his head.

"You really are a filthy sneak aren't you Jack?" Wuya said.

"I've been told that a lot recently," Jack replied, trying to get to his feet. Wuya placed her foot on Jack's chest and pushed him back down again. His head hit the floor with a crack he closed his eyes in a grimace of pain.

"_I've_ been looking for you for ages, Jack," Wuya said quietly, a small smile gracing her lips. "So I can kill you."

"Yeah, I'm not really cool with the whole killing thing," Jack answered. "So I'll tell you what. You let me up and you'll go your way, I'll go my way. Just call it even yeah?"

Wuya laughed softly. With her foot still place firmly on Jack's chest to prevent him getting up, she held up her right hand, palm facing up, and a tiny black dot appeared, floating just above it. It was rotating quickly and growing rapidly, seeming to draw pull air into it like a ball of threat being rolled up. Within seconds it was the size of a football and it glowed ominously. Jack could not tear his eyes away from it. He had seen the crate in the entrance hall made by a larger version of one of these things and he was battling to accept his own fate. It didn't seem physically possible that he was about to endure unimaginable pain before dying here on this dirty stone floor, surrounded by so many other people who did not pay him the slightest bit of attention.

"Thank you very much for returning me to my body Jack," Wuya said. "But your purpose has been served. Goodbye."

The last thing Jack heard was someone screaming his name, as if from a great distance, before his world went black and silent.

**I hope you liked it. I greatly anticipate your reviews!**


	27. The Battle Continued

**In answer to a previous review; Kimiko, Sampson and Jack are now twenty-three years old, Raimundo and Omi are twenty-four and Clay and Abi are twenty-five. I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's five and a half pages!**

**Chapter 27**

**The Battle Continued**

"The game is a race to the top of the Palace. No Shen Gong Wu...partly because I don't have any," Alexis said thoughtfully. She looked distracted for a moment and actually looked as though she was considering just ripped the sack of Shen Gong Wu from Omi's had and running off with it- a definite victory in which there was no possibility of letting her mistress down. Omi tightened his grip on his side of the bag.

"It's off!" Omi said, grinning furiously.

"...Beg your pardon?" Alexis asked. She chuckled and said, "Don't you mean it's _on_?"

"That too!" Omi retorted.

"Well you can't mean both it's off and it's on because they mean completely opposite things...never mind. Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

The whole Palace shook. Renewed shrieks echoed down the corridor from the unsuspecting fighters, some of who probably thought the whole Palace was going to collapse around them. Omi and Alexis were transported to the entrance of the Palace where the battle still raged before them.

"_This is going to be difficult,"_ Omi thought. He suppressed the thought quickly before it got his morale down and waited for the showdown to begin, a determined expression on his face.

"Gong Yi Tempai!"

The showdown began.

**.:.:.:.**

She could see what Wuya was about to do before it happened but shock and fear had glued her feet to the ground. She wanted to lunge at Wuya, to push her away from Jack before she could harm him, but her feet seemed perfectly happy to remain where they were. All she could do was scream when that godforsaken ball of black smoke was thrown down at the defenceless boy on the floor and his blood began to pour from him in freshets, almost like a river in which someone has dumped a fuck load of red dye.

"JACK!" Kimiko shrieked. Wuya looked up from the dying form on the floor, startled for a moment by the cry, but then she caught sight of Kimiko and smiled. Then she was gone. It was that smile that got Kimiko's feet moving at last. She raced forwards, shoving people out of the way without even registering their presence. Wuya was gone before she could reach her and she screamed in rage. Then Jack coughed on the ground and his red eyes fluttered open, but he looked terribly weak. Kimiko dropped to her knees beside him and brushed red hair from his forehead.

"Kimiko?" Jack said, barely able to believe it was she who sat beside him as he lay dying. His voice was faint and it seemed to take him a great effort to talk. He coughed again and light spray of blood ran down his chin. Blood covered half of the right side of his head and his right arm. In fact, the entire right side of his body seemed to be coated in it. It was hard to believe one person had that much blood in them. It pooled around him, soaking into Kimiko's clothes and blooming like roses but she barely noticed.

"Jack, it's going to be okay," Kimiko whispered. Her voice shook.

"...hurts," was all Jack could manage that time and his eyes closed again.

"No! Jack, I can help! I just need to get you outside, that's all!" Kimiko said, growing hysterical. Jack's eyes opened again and, incredibly, a small smile graced his half pallid, half blood streaked face.

"Would have died to see you fussing over me like this, Kimiko," he mumbled and then tried to laugh at the irony of the words he had just spoken.

"Please, Jack! Stay with me! I can help!" Kimiko gasped. She placed one arm under Jack's neck, the other beneath his knees and then staggered to her feet, carrying his limp and bleeding body in her arms, tears of panic and desperation beginning to run down her own blood flecked cheeks. Tears she was completely unaware of. She was also completely oblivious of the way the Palace had changed- had become larger and seemed to have so many more obstacles- due to the showdown. Jack's eyes had closed again as Kimiko began to push and shove her way through the crowd whilst trying to protect Jack from any more harm.

**.:.:.:.**

Omi, being a lot smaller than Alexis, was able to dodge through the crowd without being as easily noticed and so, with the help of this advantage, he had gotten ahead of Alexis almost immediately. She had been dragged into a battle with another woman who Omi thought he recognised from the refugees he had seen with Raimundo. But, without much time to stop and have a proper look, he hurried on. So far, the only danger he had faced was almost being stood on by a man who was easily four times the size of him ad didn't appear to see him at all as he dodged attack after attack thrown by Clay.

His path was obscured by a battling trio and as he sped towards them, he held his right arm out, palm facing outwards and water gushed from it in waves, knocking all three fighters away like a strong current in the sea. Omi's path was clear and he raced up the stairs in the entrance hall of the Palace. The stairs were crumbling due to the attacks it had suffered and he stumbled a few times but managed to save himself before he tumbled all the way down. When he reached the hallway at the top he was faced with a decision; left or right. Relying on his tiger instincts, he chose right and as he continued running in the direction, he chanced a glance over the rail that overlooked the destroyed entrance hall and saw Alexis was hot on his heels. He willed his legs to go faster and at the same time sent another jet of cold water behind him. He did not risk looking around at his target lest he trip or run into something but from the yell of surprise, he guessed he had hit her.

His victory was short-lived however and second later he heard her beginning to catch up again. Then a jet of poisonous green light whizzed over his head, so close he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It crashed into the wall ahead of him and part of it crumbled away. Omi skidded to a halt, his arms over his head as chunks of wall cascaded to the ground. He glanced around and saw Alexis almost right behind him.

"Wudai Neptune, water!" Omi called. Water seemed to explode from his hands and filled the entire corridor before him. Alexis screamed as she was swept away in the current and tumbled halfway back down the stairs with it, choking, before she managed to cling onto what remained of the banister until the water had drained away, leaving the battled below soaked. Then, gasping for breath, she began to run after Omi again. Wasting no time, Omi began to climb the mound of stone that now blocked the doorway. It proved easy work for the well-trained monk and he was over in no time and scurrying through the next room, in which only four people were duelling. A single body lay slumped on the floor. One quick glance told Omi it was not anyone he knew but he _did_ know they had died fighting for the Xiaolin side. An attack was thrown in his direction but he avoided it easily and was through the room without seconds, just as Alexis, soaking wet and fuming, clambered over the pile of collapsed wall at the entrance to the room.

In the next corridor, Omi came across the first showdown-created obstacle; the stars to the next floor or the Palace had been removed and replaced with what looked like a bare cliff face. He was meant to climb. Wasting no time in considering this, Omi sped forwards, found the first foothold and began to climb, never looking down and thinking it would be so much easier if he'd had Jack's beloved Monkey Staff. Alexis entered the room and immediately sent another jet of green light. However, this time she did not aim for Omi, but just above him, where he was reaching for his next hand hold. The rock seemed to explode and Omi not only lost his next hold, he lost his current one too and he fell back to the floor. Alexis sped past him with barely a glance at him. Shards of jagged rock had buried themselves into Omi's hands and cheeks and blood was beginning to ooze from them as he paused momentarily to remove these pieces of rock with an expression he might have worn when trying to shoo a pesky stray cat trying to score food from him. Then he ran to another part of the wall that had remained intact and began to climb again, furious that Alexis had managed to get ahead of him so easily. He glanced up only once and that was to see Alexis hauling herself over the ledge at the top of the wall and running off. He stifled a frustrated yell and focused all of his attention on the wall again, remembering how he, Raimundo and Clay had laughed at Kimiko so many years ago as she showdowned with Jack for The Monkey Staff and she had struggled just like this. A brief wave of guilt washed over him and he pushed that thought back, forcing his mind to stay on the present showdown. Alexis was already ahead of him, he could not afford to fall further behind.

**.:.:.:.**

Kimiko screamed desperately to herself as she staggered helplessly through the dense crowd. No one seemed to even notice her. She was now covered almost head to toe in Jack's blood and his limb form was getting heavier and heavier with every footstep she took. His eyes were closed again and he looked- although she never could have believed it possible- paler than ever. She kept wondering how much blood was in a human body? How much blood had he already lost? She hadn't even stopped to check he was still alive, afraid that if she did she would find his breathing had ceased.

She groaned when she stumbled through a doorway only to find yet another long corridor packed with Xiaolin and Heylin soldiers.

"Help me! Please, someone help me!" she sobbed, but no one paid her any attention and she continued to walk through the small gaps between the battling bodies alone. Her foot caught on something and with a yell of fright she tripped. Jack spilled from her arms and landed across his blood soaked stomach with a moan. She glanced behind her and saw she had tripped over the leg of yet another dead body. The corpse looked so similar to Jack's; limp, helpless and blood-drenched. Another sob escaped her as she pulled herself to her feet and gathered Jack back into her arms.

"_Why are you so desperate to save him?"_ a voice whispered in her head. _"This is _Spicer_ for god's sake!"_ She crushed the thought angrily. Yes, it was Spicer, who had once kidnapped her and held her hostage, who had once sent Omi to the past with no way of bringing him back, who had returned Wuya to her body and began this whole war. But it was also Spicer who she had known for so many years. She hadn't the heart to stand by and let someone she'd known for so long die, knowing he would at least have a slightest chance of survival if she tried to take him to Dojo and The Healing Hand of Dashi. _That _was why she was so desperate to save him. Whatever Jack had done in the past, he didn't deserve to die. She risked a single glance at his chest and thought she might have seen him breathing. She prayed she hadn't imagined it.

She hurried through the next doorway and found a set of stairs. She descended them as fast as she could, willing her legs not to tangle again, her feet not to trip on the steps she could not see due to Jack's body.

"_Stop thinking of him as a _body_!" _she scolded herself.

"_I don't mean _dead_ body!"_ she argued back.

"Stop talking to yourself!" she moaned out loud. She reached the bottom of the stairs and her eyes scanned the faces around her, desperately searching for someone who could help. She found no one. By now Jack's blood had completely covered the pair of them so they looked as if they had simply stood under a downpour of red paint. Kimiko did not notice. Nor would she care if she did.

She crossed the room quickly but to her it seemed to take hours. She emerged on an oddly deserted hallway but was only grateful se did not have to risk harming Jack more by forcing her way through thick crowds of people, some of whom were throwing attacks at her. When she reached the end of this corridor, she chose an archway on her left and found herself looking over the railing into the half demolished entrance hallway. Relief washed over her and she began to walk down the stairs. Half way down, one of the steps crumbled beneath her foot and she shrieked as she slipped down the next few steps on her bottom, still managing to cling onto Jack. She sat on the fourth step from the bottom, panting a little, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Then she glanced down at Jack and the sight of his helpless, blood soaked form got her going again. She got to her feet and hurried across the entrance hall which was now much emptier as the battle had spread out, and littered with dead bodies. There was a gaping hole in the stone wall and Kimiko simply climbed through this. Despite the hole, no fighting was taking place outside.

"Dojo!" Kimiko yelled. She was suddenly aware of how exhausted he was and she fell to her knees, breathless. She laid Jack down on the ground as gently as she could and then pushed her hair away from her sweaty forehead, smearing Jack's blood across her face as she did so and not caring. Dojo slithered into side with the Healing Hand of Dashi, caught sight of Jack and gasped.

"What happened?" he asked Kimiko, who was kneeling on the ground and leaning on her hands, doing everything in her power to stop herself passing out from shock and exhaustion.

"It was Wuya," Kimiko said faintly. "She wanted to kill him. I couldn't stop her. You've got to help him Dojo!"

Dojo took Jack's wrist in his hand for several seconds and then placed his hand on Jack's neck. He bit his lip and looked up at Kimiko.

"What are you doing? Stop wasting time! Help him!" Kimiko said hysterically.

"Kimiko...he's dead," Dojo said quietly.

"...What?"

**.:.:.:.**

Raimundo winced at the sound of the man's skull cracking open as it hit the floor. The man had landed on his head and so his neck had snapped too and he now lay with his head at an odd angle, blood trickling from the crack in his skull and his glazed, dead eyes half open. Raimundo wasted no time in looking at this gruesome sight. He hurried on. He knew Omi was in a showdown for the Shen Gong Wu but he had no idea who was winning. He ran past an archway that had once held a wooden door (said door was not lying on the floor before it with a splintered hole in the centre of it and the bottom blasted off). He had already passed the door when something caught his eyes and he did a double take. He gazed through the doorway and saw Chase Young standing there, watching him.

"Long time, no see," Chase said. His voice was as calm as ever, as if he did not know he was standing in a battle ground.

"I'd love to stay a chat but I have a missing girlfriend," Raimundo said and raced off. He could feel Chase's yellow eyes on him and it made him uneasy as he was not entirely sure why Chase Young was here, but he forced himself to ignore it. He needed to find Abi.

**.:.:.:.**

Omi saw Alexis' long silver hair whip around the corner ahead of him and he forced his little legs to run faster. He was breathing heavily but he would not stop. There was a lot of Shen Gong Wu in that bag and it would be extremely helpful if it was put to use by the Xiaolin side. He rounded the corner and saw an extremely long staircase that couldn't possibly have been there before the showdown. It was so long that when he looked up towards the top of it, most of it was lost in darkness. With no time to stand and contemplate this, Omi began to run up the stairs two at a time. Alexis came into view again.

"Wudai Neptune, ice!" he called. The steps underneath Alexis' feet glazed over with a thick sheet of ice and she slipped and fell over backwards with a cry of fright and pain. She tumbled past Omi and tried to grab him and pull him down with her but he dodged her arm and continued to run without a single look back. A thud told him Alexis had hit the bottom of the stairs. He could hear her cursing under her breath as she began to run up the stairs again and Omi prepared himself for any Heylin magic that might be thrown at him. Right on cue, yet another jet of green light blasted the stone steps just behind Omi. It hit is ankle and he stumbled, yelling with pain, but managed to fall forwards instead of back so he did not topple to the bottom of the stairs. He was running again a split second later but his injured and bleeding ankle yelled in protest every time his weight was placed in it. It slowed him down considerably but he was sure he was close to the top now. Sweat ran into his eye, stinging, and he blinked it away. His breath came in sharp gasps as he finally reached the head of the stairs and ran off along the corridor, Alexis' cursing still echoing off the walls behind him. Still running, he turned around and sent another wave of cold water down the stairs. Alexis screamed, more in anger than anything else, as she was yet again sent crashing to the bottom of the stairs. Omi gave a single triumphant laugh and the turned in to face the right direction and continued running, trying to make the distance between himself and Alexis even greater.

Around the next corner Omi saw another rock wall, meant for climbing. It was much taller than the last one and much taller than the staircase he had just dashed up. Still leaving no time to consider, knowing that if he hesitated too long, Alexis could easily close the gap between them and either attack him of overtake him...or both. He began to climb. It was a much more difficult wall than the last one too; the foot and hand hold were further apart and harder to find and some were unstable. Twice Omi reached up for a hand hold and it crumbled beneath his fingers and sent him slipping down the wall until he managed to seize hold of another outcrop of rock. Now Alexis was below him, panting and swearing and dripping with water, a cut above her left eye dripping blood down her cheek.

A piece of rock Omi had rested his right foot on while he searched for a new hold higher up broke off in a shower of rocks and dust and he swung precariously on the tip of his balance, his fingers trying to dig into the rock they were holding onto. The rocks and dust that had fallen hit Alexis in the face, going in her mouth and stinging her eyes. Blinded, she began spitting down the side of the rock wall to clear her mouth. Then, taking a huge risk, she removed her right hand from its hold se she could clear her eyes of the dust, swearing even more. Omi, his heart pumping madly, managed to find another hold for his foot and continued climbing.

When he looked up five minutes later, he noticed there was an odd golden glow all around. He strained his eyes through the gloom at the top of the wall and this time his heart leapt; he could see the sack of Shen Gong Wu just at the top of this wall. Alexis had spotted it too however.

"No you don't you fucking bastard!" Alexis snarled. Green light struck the wall above Omi and he lowered his head and pressed himself as close to the wall as possible so the falling chunks of rock would not harm him too much. They missed him. They hit Alexis. She let out an ear-splitting scream as she fell to the bottom and Omi was again reminded of the showdown Kimiko and done against Jack Spicer when she had used the Fist of Tebigong in an attempt to thwart him and only resulted in falling to the bottom of the mountain herself.

Now the way ahead of Omi was just a crater full of unstable rock chunks and dust and so he had to edge along the wall until the way ahead was clear but he knew he had time now. He did not dare look down to see what had become of Alexis for fear of growing dizzy and losing his own balance so he pushed on. Gradually, the top came into better view and the bag of Shen Gong Wu drew closer. At long last, Omi was heaving himself over the top, panting but triumphant. He seized the bag of Shen Gong Wu. There was a flash of light the Palace returned to normal; three flights of stairs covered the wall Omi had just climbed. Alexis lay at the bottom, injured but alive.

**.:.:.:.**

"What do you mean he's _dead_?" Kimiko demanded. Dojo simply looked at Kimiko, unable to say the words again. Kimiko stared forcefully back, her own exhaustion temporarily forgotten.

"He's fine! You just need to heal him with that!" Kimiko said, pointing at the Shen Gong Wu in Dojo's hand. Behind Dojo, Victoria Page stood, looking uncomfortable.

"Kimiko, look at him!" Dojo said, his voice raised slightly. Kimiko looked at him a moment longer, and then slowly lowered her eyes to Jack's body. He was drenched from head to foot in his own blood. Blood had been streaming from so many gashes on Jack's body that it was hard to count them.

"I'm sorry," Dojo said sadly, his eyes still on Kimiko. "He's gone."

There was a moments silence and then Victoria said, "Was he your friend?"

Kimiko raised her eyes to Victoria. "No," she answered. Then she fainted.

**.:.:.:.**

Abi sat huddled in the corner of the room. Her leg was broken and her arm was bleeding profusely. She had tried to get out of the Palace but her broken leg would not support her. The pain in her bleeding arm was dulled somewhat by the leg but the bleeding had not let up in the slightest and so far she had found no one who could help her, and so she sat there, praying she would be found and rescued.

**I'm so sorry buy it had to be done! Although, that little scene with Jack and Kimiko made me a little more fond of JackXKimiko when I wasn't before. I might consider writing a fanfiction with that pairing after I've finished this one. Also, I know my showdowns are always races but I've got no imagination when it comes to ideas for showdowns so I'm very sorry about that. I hope you liked it anyways. Please review!**


	28. The Battle Concluded

**It's almost eleven pages, so it should make up for all the other short chapters and long waits. Unfortunately, I can no longer promise fast updates as I have now gone back to college and so the coursework will be piling up soon, but I **_**can**_** promise that I will write whenever I get the opportunity. I hope you like this chapter.**

**Chapter 28**

**The Battle Concluded**

Kimiko awoke in a dark place. It was cool and through the dimness she could make out the outlines of other resting forms. It was a few minutes before she remembered what had happened, and then the realisation of it crashed around her and she felt like she could quite happily lie there in the dark forever and never see the sun again. Never face the fact that she had failed to save Jack Spicer's life. That so many others could have died in much the same way. She heard voices murmuring to her right but she could not make out what they were saying. The sound of those voices only vaguely registered in her mind. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and could now see the entrance to the place she was in. Through it she could see a velvet star strewn sky, indifferent to the suffering on Earth. She wondered how many of those twinkling stars had already died; all that remained was the light off years ago only just reaching Earth.

Kimiko now knew she was in the cave Dojo had discovered where the exhausted soldiers were taken to rest awhile. Her head pounded and she thought she must have hit it when she fainted. She got to her feet and walked to the entrance to the cave where another form was lying just inside it; Jack's body. She knelt down beside his bloodstained corpse and pushed his red hair out of his face.

"Kimiko," a voice said. Kimiko looked up, startled, and saw Raimundo, Omi and Clay before her.

"Dojo got the word to us," Clay said. "We've been waiting for you to wake up."

"We're going to bury him," Raimundo said softly. That was when she noticed all three of them were carrying shovels. Raimundo held two and now he held one out to Kimiko. She took it without a word. Clay bent and picked up Jack. Kimiko got to her feet. They began to walk off, Kimiko trailing slightly behind, the handle of her shovel dragging across the ground. She did not ask where they were going.

They walked for nearly fifteen minutes before they reached a large deserted field, well out of the way public dwellings and pedestrians. It was dotted with large trees whose branches reached across to each other like friends embracing, and created a kind of roof over the overgrown grass below. It was to the largest tree in the field they walked and then, without a word to each other, Jack's body laid down gently a short distance away, they began to dig in the shadow of the tree. They dug for a long time. The moon had descended in the sky by the time they were done, and there was a pink glow in the distance. Raimundo wrapped Jack in a blanket they had found when they had gotten the spades. He began carefully lowering Jack into the grave when Kimiko stopped him, pulled back the blanket covering Jack's head and placed a light kiss on his forehead. Then she replaced the blanket and still no one spoke as Raimundo laid Jack to rest at the bottom of the roughly dug grave. He climbed out again and stood with his fellow monks, all four of them looking down into the grave at the shrouded figure.

"You were never meant to be evil Jack. I hope you realised that before it was too late, and I hope you know you would always have been welcomed to the Xiaolin side if you ever chose that path," Omi said.

"He did realise it," Raimundo said. His eyes were fixed on the grave and they sparkled with tears which he did not permit to fall. "He helped me so much over the last few months. He helped me look after all the survivors, he helped me feed them, he kept me company, he reassured me when I was sure I was going to fail, that all my efforts to keep fighting would be for nothing. He also saved Kimiko from Wuya. Anything could have happened to her in there but he got her out safely."

"You would have made a great part of our team partner," Clay said sadly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Jack," Kimiko whispered. A chilly breeze drifted by them, unnoticed by all four. Kimiko wiped fresh tears from her cheeks, avoiding looking at any of the other monks.

"This should not be so difficult!" Omi said. "It is Jack Spicer. Yet it feels like a great bereavement."

"He was fighting for us in the end," Raimundo said. "He was still a cowardly little...bugger. But he knew which side he wanted to be on in the end."

Dawn crept upon them and they refilled Jack's grave, hiding his body from the world, like so many other great people who had passed on. When the work was finished they stood around the fresh earth, shovels in hands, a thick silence upon them. Then Clay pressed his foot down firmly on the ground and a large rock unearthed itself nearby. Using his elements again he carved a message in the rock.

_Here lies Jack Spicer, "evil boy genius"_

_Thank you for everything_

Clay dug the rock as far into the ground beside the grave as possible until it was as secure as possible. Then they turned their backs of the grave and walked away. Kimiko looked back at it once and smiled a little as if Jack was still standing there, waving them off, then they rounded a corner and the grave was out of sight.

**.:.:.:.**

When the sun had risen a little more fully, Dojo returned to the cave to take the well rested soldiers back to battle. Though far from well rested themselves, Kimiko, Raimundo, Clay and Omi were among those who climbed onto Dojo's back, preparing themselves for what lay ahead. As soon as Dojo landed just out of sight of the gaping hole in the Palace wall, Raimundo jumped off his back and raced into the Palace without a word. Silently, the others followed him but he was already lost from sight when they entered the Palace.

There were only three people battling in the entrance hall. The floor was littered with several dead bodies and, after a quick scan, Kimiko was relieved to see she knew none of them, although she was sure at least one of them had been sat outside a tent that morning she had taken a stroll through camp on her first day in the Amazon rainforest.

Omi immediately saw that the three battling soldiers in the entrance were two Heylin against one Xiaolin and he jumped in to help. He sent a wave of water at one of the Heylin soldiers. As soon as it washed over him, it froze solid, and he was trapped and left to die.

Kimiko was already hurrying down a long corridor, in search of more Heylin soldiers to battle. Bodies lay slumped on the floor and bloodstains were splattered up the cratered and crumbling walls. Half way along the corridor an ear splitting, agonised scream brought her to an immediate halt, her heart pounding, her eyes wide. She turned on the spot and ran back down the corridor until she saw Wuya through a doorway. Before Wuya, cornered and defenceless, was Abi Lynn. And she was dying. Dread filled Kimiko's heart, rendering her momentarily motionless, as if her feet were glued to the spot. Then Abi screamed again and that broke her paralysis.

"NOT ANOTHER ONE YOU BITCH!" Kimiko screamed. Startled, Wuya spun on the spot just in time to see Kimiko throw a fistful of fire at her. Kimiko's fist connected with Wuya's jaw, the fire burning Wuya's skin and so this time it was Wuya's turn to scream as she was hurled backwards.

"YOU'RE NOT KILLING ANYONE ELSE!" Kimiko yelled, kicking Wuya in the stomach and knocking her another few feet across the floor before she could get up. She was driving Wuya away from Abi, but she had noticed that Abi's leg was stuck out at an odd angle; she wasn't going to be able to get away on her own.

As if he had heard her mental plea for help, Raimundo hurtled into the room and knocked Wuya over as she was half way to her feet.

"Kimiko, get Abi out of here!" he called, as Wuya finally got to her feet and they began battling furiously. Kimiko rushed to Abi's side. She was only semi-conscious now and she looked almost as bad as Jack had done. A sense of déjà vu washed over her and she begged whatever was out there to let her save Abi, to make up for not being able to save Jack. She picked Abi up, as she had done with Jack, and left the room as quick as she could. Fortunately, Abi was a lot lighter than Jack and she was able to move a little more swiftly.

She sidestepped a jet of Heylin light which exploded the wall a little way down the corridor behind her. She took a detour around a corridor that was packed full of mostly Heylin soldiers. She almost ran down the stone staircase into the entrance hall which was now empty apart from around twenty dead bodies. She hurtled through the hole in the wall and fell before Dojo, Abi spilling out of her arms.

"Another one?" Dojo cried urgently.

"She's definitely still alive," Kimiko panted.

"Healing Hand of Dashi!" The gold light engulfed Abi, swirling around her broken leg and her other wounds. Then it seemed to be sucked into the wounds and became new tissue and new bone, instantly healing her. She groaned feebly and her dark eyes fluttered open. She seemed a little dazed, not aware of where she was as she lay looking at the dark sky. She did not move for a few seconds then she pushed herself quickly up onto her hands and glanced wildly around, as if looking for where Wuya had got to. Then she saw Kimiko.

"You...you saved me?" she said slowly.

"Yes," Kimiko said, a little disappointed in herself when she heard the coldness in her voice.

"Thank you," Abi whispered, her dark eyes glittering with tears that did not fall but threatened too. She seemed sincerely grateful. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Kimiko asked, although she knew.

"For everything," Abi said. She looked at Kimiko for a moment then her eyes widened. "Where's Raimundo?"

"He's fighting Wuya," Kimiko said. Then, seeing Abi's alarmed expression, she hurriedly added, "Don't worry he's fine!"

"He's a tough kid," Dojo agreed.

"Is my brother okay?" Victoria asked from behind Dojo. Kimiko had almost forgotten she was there. Kimiko had not in fact seen Sampson for a while, but saying this to his younger sister would worry her, so Kimiko smiled and said, "He's fine." Victoria didn't looks entirely reassured but she returned Kimiko's smile.

**.:.:.:.**

Omi was cornered. It was five on one and they had blocked all chances of escape and he knew, no matter how good he was at fighting, he could not take all five fully trained Heylin soldiers who were more than likely to fight dirty on his own. However, to his opponents shock, a grin stretched across Omi's face. He plunged his hand into his robes and pulled out...

"Thorn of Thunderbolt!" Omi screamed and then, "Wudai Neptune, water!"

Wave after wave of electrified water washed over the Heylin soldiers and all five were swept backwards by the current, while a current of another kind ripped through their bodies. When the water washed away, leaving nothing but puddles on the floor, all five soldiers lay dead. Omi grinned. He was not fond of taking another's life, but he knew it was a "me or him" situation, where if he didn't not kill his opponent, the opponent would kill him. This was a war, and thousands more would die needlessly if he allowed the Heylin side to win.

"Nice one li'l partner," a pleasantly familiar voice said.

"Clay!" Omi cheered as Clay entered the room. Just like Omi, Clay's clothes were streaked with blood and gore, some of it his own, a lot of it someone else's. Apart from a deep gash across his left cheek that was still trickling blood, Clay seemed unharmed and he was smiling at Omi.

"Just like trainin' isn't it?" he said. "When we learned to combine the Wu with our elements? Never thought about combining electricity with water though."

Omi swelled with pride.

"You won that showdown then? Where did you stash the Wu?"

"Dojo is guarding it outside," Omi said. Clay raised his hand to incline his hat to Omi before remembering- due to the battle- his hat was long gone. He nodded and left the room. Omi began to venture further into the dilapidated palace looking for Heylin to fight and Xiaolin to aid.

**.:.:.:.**

"You defeated me once Raimundo, I won't allow it to happen again," Wuya said coolly as she calmly wiped away a gust of wind of immense strength with a single graceful sweep of her right hand. The wind turned sharply in the air and hit the wall to the right with such force a neat hole was blown through the rock, scattering the corridor beyond with chunks of rubble and dust, crushing a single unfortunate soul who happened to be in the way. Then Wuya advanced on Raimundo, her hand still raised. In her outward facing palm, a tiny speck of green light began to spin, growing as it did so. Raimundo felt hypnotised by it, powerless to look away. Powerless to even attempt to protect himself against it. Then the light was flying towards him with such speed it seemed to leave a trail of green behind it, and so bright it would be imprinted on the eyelids of anyone who happened to see it every time they closed their eyes for the next few minutes.

The unearthly sphere of pure green light hit Raimundo square in the chest and he was bowled over backwards, landing painfully on his back, all strength and breath knocked out of him. Her coughed for air and tasted blood and vomit and it was a moment before he realised he had thrown up upon impact. The pain struck him then and all other thought left him. All he knew was unendurable agony that made him scream and scream and scream without knowing he was doing it and Wuya was laughing. Blood poured from his body in rivers and pooled around him and Wuya stood in the red puddles in her bare feet and gazed down at Raimundo, a small smile curling her lips.

With an immense effort, Raimundo kicked out at her and caught her in the knees. She stumbled backwards, slipped in the blood and fell to the ground with a snarl of rage. The pain ebbed, but only a little, and Raimundo, his face damp with sweat, his body soaked with blood, forced himself up into a sitting positing and glared at Wuya and she was shocked to see the pure loathing and determination in those strange dark green eyes.

"I can't let you win," Raimundo said. His voice was barely more than a whisper but it was harsh and dripped with malice and his eyes seemed to bore into Wuya, alive and seeming to burn with contempt, as if they could not feel the pain that tore through Raimundo's body and for the first time in her whole long life, a chill rippled across Wuya's skin and she realised with a sickening turn in the pit of her stomach that she was afraid.

**.:.:.:.**

Sampson raced through the halls, hearing Alexis storming after him. She had now recovered from her thrashing in the showdown against Omi and wanted to take her anger out on the first person who came along. That person was Sampson. He knew, in this rage, he would never be able to fight her and so his only hope was to wear her down and then attack, which was why he was now sprinting through the crumbling hallways of Wuya's palace, Alexis hot on his heels, his blonde hair flying out behind him, his breathing tearing through his throat and lungs in painful gasps. Adrenaline pounded through his veins, keeping him going, helping him force his legs to move faster whenever he heard Alexis getting closer. At one point she came so close he actually felt her long fingernails scrabble at the back of his T-shirt, slipping through the fabric and only just missing the chance to cling on, pull Sampson back and end his life.

He darted around a duelling couple, leaped over a body sprawled on the floor and pounded on.

"I'll get you, you little shit!" Alexis screeched at him. He didn't even chance a look around to see how great the distance between them was for fear of tripping over or running into someone which would almost certainly get him caught. Heylin light whizzed over his head and shoulders, crashing into the walls and ceiling, causing rock to tumble to the floor, only missing because he made sure he was a difficult target, bobbing and weaving through crowds and around corners, but she did not lose sight of him. She did not wear down either and Sampson knew, adrenaline or not, he would not be able to keep this up for too much longer and then she would get him. He needed to find someone who could help him, but all of the Xiaolin soldiers he passed were deep in battle and didn't even spare him a glance.

He rounded a corner and saw the ceiling of this corridor had caved in, leaving a wide view into the corridor upstairs and a large pile of boulders in the middle of the floor. This was where he hoped to throw Alexis off his trail. Sampson forced his legs to go faster than ever. When he was just several paces away from the mountain of rubble, he pointed both of his palms down at the floor and cried, "Wind!" A blast of strong wind erupted from his hands at the same time he leapt as high into the air as he could. He hurtled over the rocks, a soaring sensation in his chest that felt so good he was unable to suppress a grin. He was unable to fly like Raimundo but this was as close as he'd get and it felt wonderful.

Alexis skidded to a halt as she neared the pile and watched Sampson's progress over the top until he was on the other side and out of sight. She heard his footsteps growing fainter on the other side as he continued to run and she felt her anger mounting up again until her blood was boiling and she felt like she was going to explode. She began to scramble over the rocks; a task she would usually have accomplished with ease but not that she was angry she kept slipping, at one point skinning her right hand and left knee as she slipped off a rather large boulder and tried to find a perch on another one before she tumbled painfully to the floor. And then there was the sound of more footsteps, growing nearer this time but still on the opposite side. She could hear faint panting and knew her prey had returned. She felt a moment of unease. He had spent so long trying to escape her, why had he come back?

"WIND!" she heard Sampson's voice scream. It sounded like a hurricane on the other side of the mountain of rubble and it was a second before she realised what he was doing. Not until a chunk of rock at the top of the pile was blasted from its perch and thrown back across the corridor, shattering to dust as it collided with the wall did she realise what was happening. As more rocks began to launch themselves in her direction, Alexis turned on her heel and ran back the way she had come. She heard the rocks behind her, crashing to the floor and exploding, or whizzing over her head, only narrowly missing her. Sampson had seen his chance and come back to get her.

A thankfully rather small piece of rock caught Alexis in the back, right between her shoulder blades, and she was thrown forwards, her arms flailing helplessly for balance which resulted in her hitting the floor face first. The world around her went grey and she felt herself balancing on the edge of consciousness. The thing that kept her going was the thought of how furious Wuya would be (not to mention how ashamed of herself she'd be) if she allowed herself to be beaten by this little boy. With an effort, she pushed herself to her feet. Blood splattered from her nose, lip and forehead down her dress and onto the floor. Some of it clumped in her silver hair. She staggered away down the corridor, away from the flying rocks and the wind she was now beginning to feel as the mountain was reduced, to recover.

Sampson spied Alexis hurrying away down the corridor. Her face was a mask of blood but her ice cold eyes were bright with fury and he knew she'd be back, but he was ready for her when she returned. He turned away and the wind died down immediately. He walked back through the corridor, letting his heart slow back to a normal rhythm and his legs recover from the sprint he had performed in his desperate escape.

**.:.:.:.**

Raimundo was thrown backwards so forcefully he actually lifted off his feel. He collided with the wall behind him and slid to the floor, wincing with the pain. Wuya was no longer grinning her cruel grin. Her eyes were cold with contempt and a desire to be victorious. She scowled when Raimundo got awkwardly to his feet and turned to face her again, his face set.

As far as Raimundo was aware, Wuya did not know about the Shen Gong Wu he had hidden and he wanted to catch her off guard with them, so he could not use them until the right moment, when a he was certain he was going to hit Wuya without her being able to protect herself.

Sweat trickled into his eyes, stinging, and he blinked it away. Wuya was watching him closely, waiting for him to move and her hesitation made Raimundo sure she was frightened. He couldn't help it; he grinned. And Wuya recoiled. Raimundo raised his eyebrows at her and her pale face flushed with colour.

"What's the matter Wuya?" Raimundo said, his voice taunting but he felt nothing but pleasure and more blood rushed to Wuya's cheeks in a mix of anger and embarrassment. "Are you scared?"

"No!" Wuya spat. She lunged at Raimundo but Raimundo was ready and her swung his fist up, hitting her under the chin so her head was rocked backwards as she tumbled over. She shrieked with rage and was on her feet so quickly Raimundo had barely seen it happen. She kicked out at him and he stumbled backwards but managed to retain his balance. He sent a gust of wind at Wuya from the palm of his hand and the ball of green light she had just thrown at him rebounded on her, catching her in the shoulder. This time her cry was of pain as fresh blood began to soak through her dress.

"The only thing you'll accomplish in beating me is allowing the Dark Queen to take over completely!" Wuya snapped, her voice brittle with the pain she was trying to conceal.

"Who is she Wuya?" Raimundo asked. He was unable to stop himself.

Wuya looked at him for a moment, blood seeping through the fingers she had pressed to her newest wound. "I...I don't know," she said finally. When Raimundo's gaze did not falter she said, "I really don't. I don't know anything about her other than she has an army of god knows whatever they are and she wants to take over the world."

"Do you know who is stronger?" Raimundo inquired. "You or her?"

"I am!" Wuya snapped.

"Then I should be able to take her down easily," Raimundo said and smirked. Wuya had seen that smirk so often over the years and never had she thought it would be directed at her. Her green eyes narrowed angrily. That was when Raimundo realised one of her hands was behind her back. At the same moment he realised, the hand came back into view and before he had time to register it, a jet of black mist was speeding towards him. He knew if it hit him it would kill him. It looked solid, like a massive, black snake, coiling through the air. Time seemed to move in slow motion around him and he lifted up the front of his T-shirt to reveal the waistband of his ragged jeans where the hilt of a sword was visible at his hip. He pulled the Sword of the Storm out from its hiding place, as if unsheathing it from a scabbard and called its name, followed by his own element. Wuya's eyes widened in shock. All of this happened in the space of a second. The wind and the mist collided in the air and were sent ricocheting off the walls. The wind created a mini hurricane in the room and the mist was caught in the middle of it, so it swirled and swirled, looking like a black abyss, destroying anything and everything that got in its way. Wuya screamed and threw herself out of its path as it broke its way through the wall behind her. There were screams and bangs as people in the next room tried to escape and were helplessly dragged towards it. Wuya was clinging desperately to a piece of rock that jutted out of the uneven wall to stop herself being pulled into oblivion.

"STOP IT!" she screamed over the racket of the hurricane destroying the palace and the shrieks of other people being pulled, as if by strong invisible hands, to their doom.

"RAIMUNDO, PLEASE STOP IT!"

Raimundo, immune to the impossible strength of the wind pulling everything within reach toward it, simply stood his ground and watched Wuya, her eyes pleading, his own portraying no mercy at all.

**.:.:.:.**

On the far side of the stone palace, away from the dangers of the hurricane, Kimiko was wandering though the hallways. It was deserted and an ominous feeling was building up inside her. The walls were destroyed and spattered with blood, but there were no bodies anyway. No living people anywhere either. Yet she still had the feeling of being watched and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her footsteps echoed off the walls and after every few paces she glanced back over her shoulder, sure someone was behind her. Her heart was pounding madly in her chest and she was surprised she could not heat that echoing off the walls of the palace as well.

"Hello beautiful," said a gruff voice from behind her. Kimiko froze. She knew that voice all too well. She turned and a man stepped out of the shadows. Kimiko found herself, once again, looking into the heavily scarred face of Ty. His eyes roved greedily over her, glinting madly and she took a single step back without taking her eyes off him.

"What do you want?" she asked, forcing her voice to sound braver than she actually felt.

A smile spread across Ty's thin lips and he said, "You."

Kimiko opened her mouth to retort, found she was too blinded by anger at his response to think of anything to say and closed it again. Ty smirked, obviously pleased with the result he had gotten.

"I'd rather fucking die!" Kimiko managed at last.

"Oh, I think I can manage too, honey," Ty chuckled.

"Oh no you can't because if you come anywhere near me I'm going to fucking set you on fire!" Kimiko said. "And I'm not fucking joking."

"Language like that shouldn't be coming from a pretty little thing like you, it doesn't suit you," Ty said.

"Go fuck yourself."

Ty opened his mouth to say something but Kimiko cut him off, already knowing what he was going to say.

"Don't you fucking dare say it," she warned, her voice low. Ty grinned.

"I'll do what I want," Ty said. "Your friends can't help you, girlie. The little midget and the cowboy are fighting a couple of my own friends, British Blondie is trying to hide from Alexis and dear, dear Raimundo is busy being slaughtered by Wuya herself. You're all on your own."

"I don't need anyone's help," Kimiko said, amazed and the calmness that now possessed her tone. She realised she wasn't even frightened anymore. In the last couple of seconds she had been thinking of all her previous encounters with Ty, the first time they had met when Wuya first took over the Xiaolin Temple, when he had tortured her in Wuya's throne room, when had battled in the forest in Brazil, and this time she knew if he went for her again she was not going to go easy on him. This time, is he came for her, she was going to kill him.

For far in the distance she heard the sounds of screaming and crashing and a strange whooshing sound that was the combination of Raimundo's hurricane and Wuya's Heylin magic, but she did not know this yet and it was irrelevant to her. It was far away and was not going to harm her and right now she had other things to think about. She was watching Ty, waiting for him to make the first move, and he stood where he was, studying her, as if he too was waiting for her to move first.

"Tell me something Ty," Kimiko said, struck by sudden inspiration (or madness, she wasn't entirely sure how to tell them apart at the moment). "What's going to happen if Wuya takes over? You and Alexis reckon you're her favourite's right?"

Ty said nothing. His eyes were fixed on Kimiko, his heavy brow furrowed slightly, as if he was trying to work out what she was doing.

"But Wuya doesn't care about anyone in the world except herself. She only needs an army to take out all of her opposition. What do you think she'll do if she wins? You'll be useless to her then. If you're lucky she'll kill you. But I hope she keeps you alive. I hope she keeps you in one of those cells like Virginia, and Raimundo's family, and I hope she tortures you and you suffer the longest and slowest death you couldn't even imagine. Because that's what you deserve Ty. That's what you all deserve. I'm not as heartless as her. I won't drag it out. I'll kill you as quickly as I can, but I assure you, I'll enjoy it." Her words echoed around the two of them and there was a moment's pause after she had finished speaking.

"Well come and fucking get me then!" Ty yelled suddenly, fury etched into every line and scar of his face as he lunged for Kimiko. But Kimiko stood her ground and waited for him. When he reached her and aimed a punch at her, she caught his fist so easily as if she was doing nothing more difficult that catching a tennis ball someone had gently passed to her. Then flames erupted from her hand, engulfing Ty's fist and he began to shriek in surprise and pain. He tried to yank his hand away from Kimiko but she held on and soon the smell of burning flesh was filling her nostrils, making her feel nauseous, but she hardly even noticed. With her free hand, Kimiko reached into the pocket and extracted something she had gotten off Dojo not long ago. She held it out towards Ty and saw comprehension dawn in his eyes. All manic, sexual greed was gone from them and all that was left was fear and a terrifying understanding of what was about to happen to him. The burning hand was just a taste of what was to come Kimiko really had meant what she said.

"Star Hinarbi FIRE!" Kimiko shouted. Flames burst from the Shen Gong Wu in her left hand and Ty's clothes caught fire. Now he was screaming, trying to beat the flames out. Kimiko held onto his burned and blackened right fist a moment longer. When the flames had began to lick Ty's body in earnest, she finally freed him. He staggered backwards. Now he was like a human torch and the stench was unbelievable. The screams of unimaginable, unendurable agony would make anyone want to cry with pity and horror and burning desire to help the burning man and run away and leave him at exactly the same time. Anyone but Kimiko. She stood and watched him, her face expressionless and merciless, much the same way Raimundo was standing watching Wuya plead for her life at that very moment.

Ty sprawled onto the floor, still screaming and thrashing. The flames had now consumed his entire body and Kimiko was amazed at how long a human body could desperately cling to life. Regardless of this however, she knew he was going die without seconds. And she stood and watched it happen. First the screams died away. Then the flailing limbs fell to the floor with a final thud, which was disturbingly more like a _splat_ than a _thud_. Kimiko waited a few more seconds, watching the flames dance over the corpse, then she held out her right arm and the flames jumped from the body into her hand and vanished in a wisp of smoke. Without even pausing to observe the body, not even for a second, Kimiko turned and walked away, headed in the direction of the chaos in the distance.

**.:.:.:.**

Clay had seen the Xiaolin-Heylin hurricane and knew there was only mere minutes before the whole palace was ripped apart. With no hesitation, he had rushed to the dungeons. There was a cry of mingled terror and delight from one of the cells as soon as he entered and he saw Bethania, with her hands wrapped around the bars of her cell.

"Clay!" she cried. "What's going on? Who's winning?"

"That's not important. This whole palace is going to collapse. If we don't hurry we're going to be crushed," Clay said. He saw others approaching the bars of their cells. Sampson's parents. Another couple, the male looking very much like Raimundo with his brown hair and dark green eyes. A woman with filthy hair that might once have been red, who looked like she only had days left to live. A hundred others. Wuya's prisoners.

Clay pulled a Shen Gong Wu from his pocket and fixed it to his right fist. "Stand away from the bars," he instructed. The prisoners retreated to the far corners of their cells. "Fist of Tebigong, earth!" he roared. With all his force, he pushed the ground. It was as if a mini earthquake had ripped through the palace. The bars of the cells snapped and clattered to the floor and several if the captives were knocked off their feet.

"Get outside as fast as you can," Clay ordered. "There's a dragon and a girl called Victoria outside, they'll help you." At the mention of their daughter's name, the Page's faces broke into weak grins of relief. Clay turned and left the dungeons and the freed prisoners followed him out.

**.:.:.:.**

Wuya was so close to the hurricane now. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and her fingers had been cut open and were bleeding with the effort of clinging onto the rock wall for dear life.

"YOU'VE GOT TO HELP ME RAIMUNDO!" she screamed over the noise. "PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"

"You've hurt my friends. And you've hurt my family. This is personal Wuya. You deserve everything you get. You deserve to die and I hope it fucking hurts." Raimundo's voice was barely audible over the racket but Wuya heard him and her eyes widened. Raimundo was her only hope of survival and she knew he would not help her. He could just as easily have ripped her away from the wall and thrown her into the hurricane that was partly her own creation himself, but she knew he wanted her to suffer. They both knew she was going to die, but Raimundo wanted Wuya's last few terrifying moments on Earth to last a lifetime. And to her, they did. When her fingers began to slip along the outcrop of rock, Wuya wasn't sure to feel relieved that this horrific moment was finally going to be over or whether to try harder to cling on. She knew it was pointless though. In her final second, she looked at Raimundo again and her eyes widened one last time as she saw the smirk slowly spreading across Raimundo beaten and bloody face. He had beaten her.

The palace began to collapse, no longer supported by enough walls and floors and ceilings as this monstrosity had tore them to pieces, at exactly the same time that Wuya's long fingernails scraped across the rock, desperately scrabbling for a better hold but finding none. She gave one last shriek as she hurtled through the air and was consumed by the wind and mist.

There was no time to stand around. Seizing anyone he could as he sprinted past them, Raimundo rushed through the crumbling palace dodging falling rocks and destroyed furniture and dead bodies as they rained down on him. He threw himself from the palace and landed hard on his stomach, turning just in time to see the palace tumble to the ground.

**.:.:.:.**

If any Heylin soldiers had survived, none were found in the huge crowd gathered outside the palace. Raimundo found Kimiko, Omi, Clay, Abi, Master Fung and Bethania, who had sobbed onto his shoulder for ten minutes- it was the first time she had seen him for years. Sampson and Victoria were reunited with their parents.

The Xiaolin-Heylin hurricane seemed to have burned itself out and all of its victims were buried beneath the rubble.

Dojo hurried among the survivors, healing as many as he could. Several people were not reached in time and died; such a devastating thing after they had just won the battle. Then Dojo began the slow job of flying people away from the palace to the Xiaolin Temple.

Once the Xiaolin monks had returned to their home and explored the ruined Temple and decided it was not entirely beyond repair if they were willing to out the work in, they sat on the training field. They had never seen the Temple so full of people, but they kept themselves apart from the rest and sat in silence, remembering anyone who had died in the battle to defeat Wuya and her Heylin forces.

"Just the Dark Queen left now," Omi said after an hour of sitting in solemn silence. "Do you think she'll be harder to defeat?"

"Probably," Clay shrugged. "No one even knows who she is."

"Did any of the Heylin soldiers survive?" Sampson asked, thinking of Alexis, chasing him through the palace like a rabid dog.

"I'm not sure," Raimundo said. They were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. They glanced up and saw Bethania. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes were glistening with tears. Raimundo got hurriedly to his feet and faced his sister.

"Beth, what is it?" he asked.

"Reynaldo and Carlos," Bethania managed. Her voice was choked, as if she were forcing the tears not to fall, but she was fighting a losing battle.

"...What?" Raimundo asked. He had been so focused on getting everyone else out alive he had not thought out his twin brothers in a long time, but now their absence was so obvious he couldn't believe he had missed it. He knew what Bethania was going to say before she said it.

"They're not here," she whispered. It was all that needed to be said. Bethania Pedrosa broke down in tears and Raimundo wrapped his arms around his older sister and she sobbed onto his shoulder once again. Raimundo felt numbness spreading through him. He had saved many lives in his own escape from the palace, but he had failed to save his own brothers.

**This was probably the best chapter I've ever written, if I do say so myself. My keyboard id being really weird however so if there were any words with missing letters, that is why I apologise for that. I'll update whenever I get the chance, hopefully it won't be too long. It's the Dark Queen's reign now. Don't forget to review!**


	29. Overnight

**Shorter than the last one but there wasn't as much to write. The next chapter should be longer. Also, I have to say, I write this story for you people, my lovely readers, so please could you take just a minute or two to review after you have read so I know what you think? I seem to be getting less and less reviews, I'm worried people are getting bored. I know it's quite long, is it dragging? Please tell me if it is. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 29**

**Overnight**

The Xiaolin monks were up all night caring for those who were traumatised by the battle, reassuring those who had lost loved ones, trying to reunite children- who Dojo had returned to the Temple- with their parents and making any repairs they could on the Temple. They were so busy they took no notice at all t the world outside as it shifted and changed around them. Borders to every country on Earth closed overnight, thousands were slaughtered and everywhere figures in strange black cloaks appeared, like guards. There were cries for help over radios as families were torn apart, as people went out and never came back, as a new entity took control.

And still the work went on inside the Xiaolin Temple. Raimundo worked harder than the rest, cleaning away rubble, helping builders repair the damage, taking care of their guests. He did not even stop t rest even though he was exhausted. He was pushing himself because as long as there was work to be done, he could stop his mind from straying back to his brothers. He had sworn to save them and they had died anyways. He felt like he had failed them.

He had not spoken to Bethania either; who he knew had only stayed at the Temple after the offer of a ride home because she did not want to take the news of Reynaldo and Carlos to the rest of the family. Selfishly, he had allowed her parents do this for her.

It was not until a red headed girl in ragged clothes that hung off her malnourished figure approached him that he finally stopped to rest. He faced the girl who he recognised immediately even though he had only met her once, a long, long time ago; Virginia.

"Raimundo," Virginia said. Her voice was weak but her eyes were gentle. She wore the expression of a woman who had fell from a great height and had accepted her doom, only to land on an immense bed of pillows, completely unharmed. "I want to thank you, all of you, for saving us."

"It was Clay that got you out," Raimundo shrugged.

"I know I've already spoken to him. But if it wasn't for all of you we'd probably have died in there. People were starting to give in to Wuya. There was less resistance. I thought she'd never be stopped," she paused. "Is she really gone? ...You really killed her?"

"She's gone," Raimundo nodded.

The corners of Virginia's mouth twitched into what was probably her first smile in years and she said, "You're so brave. Fighting her like you did. I don't think anyone else could have done it."

"Yeah, well...someone had to," Raimundo shrugged modestly. Virginia flashed him one more small smile and retreated, allowing him to continue his work.

Almost as soon as Virginia had left, Omi entered the room. He held the Ruby of Ramsies in one hand; he had been using it to transport piles of rubble out of the Temple into a corner of the grounds. Something occurred to Raimundo then and he addressed Omi.

"Chase was sneaking around the palace during the battle you know," he said.

"Yes, I saw him too," Omi nodded.

"Any idea what he was up to?" Raimundo questioned.

"I do not know," Omi said. "I wonder if he got out in time."

"Yeah, I'd never thought of that," Raimundo said. "Victoria said he was in dungeons with her and he used her to escape. Why would Wuya lock him up?"

"I expect she was afraid of more competition," Omi said wisely.

"I suppose," Raimundo agreed. He sat down on the floor and stretched his acing legs out in front of him. "What do you reckon is going to happen now?"

"With the Dark Queen?"

Raimundo nodded.

"We shall just have to wait and see," Omi shrugged. Then he looked at Raimundo rather sheepishly. "Raimundo, I would like to say something to you."

"...Oh?" was all Raimundo could think of to say. He was slightly surprised by this sudden change in Omi.

"...When you first came to the Temple, I never thought much of you. Especially not after you joined Wuya. But not even I knew then how strong you were going to become. You killed Wuya. That is something I am not sure even I could have accomplished. So I am sorry for the way I have treated you. I should never have doubted Master Fung's decision to make you Shoku Warrior," Omi said, his eyes were fixed on Raimundo as if he was trying to show his sincerity by gazing into Raimundo's eyes as he spoke, but his hands fiddled with the hem of his robes, as if he was nervous- and slightly ashamed- of what he was saying.

"Oh," Raimundo said again. "Well...thanks Omi."

**.:.:.:.**

It was not until Clay turned on the radio and heard the pleas for help that they realised what was happening in the rest of the world.

"_The Dark Queen is taking over! Her forces are everywhere! There are bodies in the streets, people are being dragged from their homes, families are being torn apart and friends are going missing! Everywhere is in ruins, everything is being destroyed! Someone please help us!"_

_[A crash in the background]_

"_Oh no, they're here. Someone, please, you've got to save us!"_

_[Another crash, a scream, a thud and then silence]_

**.:.:.:.**

It felt strange to be lying in a bed again, even if the bed was just a mattress on the floor. The once familiar surrounding felt surreal to Raimundo, who had never expected to find himself lying in his room in the Xiaolin Temple, listening to Clay's thunderous snores, ever again. There was one difference this time however, he now shared his mattress with Abi, who was almost as exhausted as him as she had rushed around all day caring for the bereaved and the shell-shocked.

After they'd heard the radio broadcast, the Xiaolin monks had gathered in the vault, the only part of the Temple that did not seem to have suffered any damage seeing as it was empty anyways, and discussed what they had to do.

"We have to do something," Raimundo stated.

"What though?" Kimiko asked. "We don't know anything about the Dark Queen. No one's ever seen her, all we know is what you told us of when she captured you," she inclined her head to Raimundo. "We don't even know what are soldiers are. All we know for sure is they're definitely not fucking human. You saw what they did to Sampson when he tried to fight one in England when we went for his family. How are we supposed to fight an enemy we don't even know?"

"I don't know," Raimundo sighed. "But we've got to do something."

"Why did you let your parents go back to Brazil?" Sampson asked suddenly. "Why didn't you ask them to stay here where you knew they would be okay?"

"I asked them to but they wanted to check on the rest of the family," Raimundo said. "I told them we could bring them here but they weren't having it. They wanted to go home."

"I don't even know if my papa is alive," Kimiko said quietly.

"Neither do I," Clay said. They stood for a while in silence.

Now Raimundo lay in bed, staring out of the window across the dark grounds and up at the velvet sky studded with diamonds. It was a beautiful view and looking at it, he found it hard to believe such horror could be happening all around. He wondered what had happened to the man they had heard on the radio. Had they killed him? Or had he been dragged off to the Dark Queen's strange palace made of black diamond.

"You're the only one with a little knowledge of the Dark Queen," Abi said, as if she had been reading his thoughts. "Do you think she's stronger than Wuya?"

"Yes," Raimundo asked after a short pause. "I've fought against plenty of her soldiers too and they're impossible to defeat. I don't know how we're going to do this and now everyone is looking to me for answers."

"You'll do it, Rai," Abi said. "And I'm not just saying that. I've seen what you're capable of. And you never give up. You don't allow innocent people to suffer. I know you're going to do everything you can to beat this Dark Queen, whoever she is."

Raimundo said nothing, absorbing Abi's words and wishing they filled him with confidence like they were meant to. What he felt instead was dread. He thought of how he felt when he had head the Dark Queen speak. Even just the memory made him shudder. He had never believed before now that just the sound of someone's voice could make anyone feel like that. The pain. The pain that seemed to embed itself in him rather than tear through him like true physical pain. The way it made him feel like he would simply like to end his life, to end his suffering. He didn't know how they were going to fight the Dark Queen.

"I'm sorry about your brothers, Raimundo," Abi said after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah," Raimundo whispered. The last thing he wanted was to think of his brothers. He had seen Bethania before he turned in for the night. "Don't blame yourself Rai, it wasn't your fault," she had told him. But he couldn't help but blame himself. His mother and father had barely spoken to him before they left and he had a feeling they blamed him too.

"You killed her Rai," Abi said. "Don't let yourself forget that; you killed Wuya. Think how many more people could have died if you hadn't? You've saved so many lives."

"But I couldn't save them," Raimundo said. Abi fell silent. No matter how exhausted he was, Raimundo knew he was not going to get any sleep that night.

**.:.:.:.**

Kimiko was also lying awake in bed, in the room beside Raimundo's. She had heard Raimundo and Abi talking and longed to be in Abi's position, lying in bed beside Raimundo, trying to comfort him. For one brief moment she regretted saving Abi, and then she felt a wave of guilt wash over her and felt a little sick and how horrid that thought was. Besides, Raimundo was happy with Abi. She should be happy for him. Shouldn't she? She certainly didn't feel happy.

Thinking of Raimundo's lost twin brothers made her think of her own family. Was her father still alive? If he was, for how long would he stay that way? The Dark Queen must know the Xiaolin monks were going to oppose her, to fight back and try to bring her down. Surely she'd want some sort of leverage, to deter the warriors from trying to fight her. For something like that, the obvious solution was obviously to go for the families. And all three families, Kimiko's, Raimundo's and Clay's, were unprotected, in a far away placed where the warriors could not even check up on them. For the first time, Kimiko realised how much they were sacrificing by fighting this war. And yet, they'd be sacrificing so much more if they didn't fight. It was lose-lose either way. All they could do was fight and hope for the best. But the thought of fighting an enemy they knew nothing about seemed ominous and virtually impossible. Fighting Wuya and her forces had been hard enough. The idea of fighting The Dark Queen, who was obviously so much more powerful, was daunting.

Kimiko rolled onto her side so she had a view of the open night sky through the window. Grey clouds now rolled across it, blotting out the scatter of twinkling stars. It seemed so strange that thing like this, the stars, the rain, could go on, oblivious of everything else around it.

Being an only child, Kimiko did not know what it was like to love a sibling. She didn't know what it was like to _have_ a sibling. But she expected it was the same losing a parent and that was something she had experienced, though she had never spoken of it to her friends. Not once. She thought it was odd that after so many years no one had asked about her mother but supposed now, they had noticed she never spoke of her, and they had met her father and they must have also noticed her mother wasn't there, and they had simply followed her lead. She remembered the day her mother had died. She remembered the days before it too. Sometimes she dreamed about it. She thought about it less and less as she got older and that was the way she liked it but once every few months the memory would catch her off guard. She did not know how she would feel if she lost her father too.

Kimiko knew there was too much going on, too much on her mind, to sleep. She wanted to get up and go for a walk to clear her head but, although her mind was fully awake; her body was too tired and would not allow her to get out of bed. She needed rest.

**.:.:.:.**

The night was chilly, and Alexis had been wandering all day. By a sheer stroke of luck, she had escaped the palace before it collapsed. She found it difficult to believe Wuya was dead. She found it difficult to believe Ty was dead too. That fucking Japanese bitch had killed her brother and she was going to pay. Alexis swore it.

She did not know what she was going to do now. She did not know where to go. She supposed she could search for any Heylin survivors, but she wasn't even sure where to begin.

The clouds above threatened rain and Alexis knew she needed to get under cover but she had nowhere to go. It was a moment before she realised she was being followed. She turned around, hastily pushing silver hair out of her face so she could peer through the gloom. A cloaked figure was approaching her. She stood her ground and watched. The figure reached her and stood before her. The cloak swept the ground but she had a feeling the figure was floating, rather than standing. Then it spoke. "You are Alexis," it said. The voice was stranger than any voice she had ever heard. It was rather hoarse and raspy, as if it had a sore throat and found it difficult, perhaps painful, to speak. Yet there was something vaguely familiar about that voice that Alexis could not quite put her finger on.

"Yes," Alexis said. She was readying herself for a fight, for this figure gave off a feeling of hostility.

"You were a Heylin supporter," the figure stated. Alexis noted the use of the word _were_.

"Yes," she said again, somewhat defiantly.

"You will come with me," the figure said.

"Oh will I now?" Alexis said, rather shrilly. "And what makes you think that?"

Then the figure reached up and lowered its hood and Alexis realised then what the Dark Queen's soldiers were. Alexis screamed.

**I hope you liked it. Remember, **_**please**_** review.**


	30. The Battle in France

**I think you'll like this chapter. Also, I would like to say happy birthday to Zoe, have an early birthday present and enjoy your birthday on Tuesday! Enjoy.**

**Chapter 30**

**The Battle in France**

Every soul under the Xiaolin Temple's roof was up at the crack of dawn, when the sun was just rising above the horizon and casting its weak rays across China. Several years ago, the Temple training grounds had seemed far too large, now it was almost packed as the inhabitants of the Temple darted and weaved amongst each other, battling. It was almost like the battle against the Heylin forces a week ago all over again, except this was only training.

Master Fung was moving amongst the soldiers, offering tips, observing strategies and demonstrating counter-attacks. Kimiko was battling Abi. Abi was more trained in sword fighting than martial arts which gave Kimiko an advantage, although Abi was still rather strong. Kimiko had not expected Abi to be as strong as she was as she was primarily a nurse, not a fighter. Kimiko ducked Abi's punch and kicked out at her stomach. Abi doubled up, clutching her stomach. She recovered quickly however and flipped over Kimiko's leg as she aimed another kick. She darted around Kimiko and aimed a kick at the small of her back and Kimiko was thrown forward with a squeal.

"This training is a little rough, isn't it?" one of the new comers commented, nursing a bloody nose.

"How else are we going to learn?" Kimiko asked, getting to her feet, rubbing her back, a grimace of pain on her face. "Nice kick Abi."

"Sorry," Abi said, smiling. Kimiko wasn't sure whether the smile was a smile of good humour or malicious amusement. She often had these thoughts about Abi, wondering whether Abi really was intentionally taunting her or whether she was getting paranoid and imagining it. Whichever it was, she knew Abi knew how she felt about Raimundo.

Kimiko resumed her stance and waited for Abi's next move, which came in the form of right hook, catching Kimiko in the side of the head as she had been distracted, watching Raimundo and Sampson battling with interest. She was knocked to the side, straight into Sampson and the two of them toppled to the ground. Sampson landed on his back, Kimiko landed directly on top of him, her face just inches from his.

"...Hello," Sampson said awkwardly.

"...I am so sorry," Kimiko said, her face flushed with the colour of embarrassment. Raimundo was laughing behind them.

"Nice one," Raimundo chuckled, high-fived Abi.

"Are you going to get up?" Sampson asked, a grin spreading across his face. "Or make this worthwhile?"

"Sorry!" Kimiko said, her cheeks going even redder. She got hurriedly to her feet, dusting herself off. She pulled Sampson up, not looking him in the eye. She looked around to avoid looking at him and noticed Raimundo was still watching them curiously. Raimundo flashed her a quick smile and then turned to Abi. Sampson's eyes were also on her and a small smile was still playing on his lips. Kimiko cleared her throat loudly and also turned to Abi. "Shall we...erm...continue?" she asked.

"Oh right, yeah," Abi said. She smiled at Raimundo and then turned to Kimiko. Sampson and Raimundo began to battle again although much rougher than they had been previously. Raimundo dodged Sampson's fist, seized hold of his wrist then spun him around so his arm was pinned up his back. Then he put one leg in front of Sampson and pushed him forward so he fell face first into the dirt. Sampson sensed Raimundo's foot coming down over him rather than felt it and hastily rolled over on the ground. Once out of reach, he sprang to his feet and raised his foot to connect with Raimundo's left shoulder in one swift move. Raimundo staggered to the side, a look of surprise on his face. He knew Sampson had intended to kick him in the head but his aim had been off and Raimundo felt vaguely relieved he had missed because the kick he had received was painful. He regained his balance before he fell to the ground and kicked back at Sampson, catching him in the chest and knocking him off his feet. Straight into Kimiko. Once again, the pair of them fell over in a tangle.

"You're taking the piss now," Kimiko said, spitting out a mouthful of dirt. This time she had landed in her front and Sampson had landed on his back on top of her.

"Sorry," Raimundo said, taking Kimiko's hand and helping her to her feet, almost before Sampson had even managed to get off her.

"Don't worry about it," Kimiko said. She spat more dirt onto the ground and wiped her mouth.

"Very lady-like," Raimundo joked.

"Wouldn't have happened if you hadn't knocked Sampson into me," Kimiko said, raising her eyebrows. Raimundo grinned then turned his back on her to return to his training.

Abi approached Kimiko again.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Kimiko replied. No more words were spoken between them as they trained together. Kimiko noticed that every time Abi landed an attack she glanced quickly at Raimundo to see if he was watching, as if she was hoping for approval. Kimiko always took these moments to attack again. A little bit unfair, she knew, but it was Abi's fault for not focusing on the battle. However, she was careful never to perform an attack that was going to send Abi sailing into Raimundo as Kimiko had done with Sampson.

Meanwhile, Omi was paired up with Clay. Because Omi was so short, he was able to dart among the legs of the surrounding trainers and hide from Clay in the crowd, which he used to his advantage. Master Fung had already praised him for this technique and told him it would be very useful in actual battle if there were plenty of other bodies around.

Master Fung called the trainers to attention and all fighting ceased almost immediately. All eyes fell on Master Fung, who stood before them, Dojo coiled around his shoulders.

"Now that we are all together," Master Fung said. His gentle voice carried easily across the open, quiet grounds. "I would like to say welcome to the Xiaolin Temple, and well done in the battle against Wuya and her forces. You all fought bravely. Many people died trying to bring the Heylin forces down, but they did not die in vain, and we will always remember them.

"But now, a greater force is at large," Master Fung looked around at his audience with a grave face. "The Dark Queen in no doubt so much more powerful than Wuya was. In just one night the whole world has gone into turmoil. We do not yet know what the Dark Queen is capable of, and the only knowledge we have is what Raimundo discovered when he was captured by her soldiers many years ago and even that knowledge is not very helpful. However, the peoples of the world are in danger and we do not have time to gather information on our enemy. Two months from now, we must go to battle in France, where the most distress signals have come from. We must train harder than ever in preparation for the battle. Warriors, we are going to war."

Kimiko, Omi, Clay and Sampson caught Raimundo's eye and discovered this was news to him too; Master Fung had not told him individually about the upcoming battle. Master Fung stepped back from the training grounds. There was a moment of confusion as many people continued to watch him, as if expecting him to continue speaking. Then in ripples they began to train again, all minds set on the daunting battle ahead.

**.:.:.:.**

A week after Master Fung informed the Xiaolin forces of the battle in France, more soldiers arrived at the Xiaolin Temple. The Temple was almost full to bursting already, with soldiers sleeping on the floor of the meditating hall and Temple vault. A few even slept in the kitchen. Now forty new soldiers had arrived to train for the war and Raimundo worried about space in the Temple. The rest of the soldiers were training but Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo, Clay and Sampson where to wait for the new comers to greet them with Master Fung and Dojo. They moved in a line before the warriors, introducing themselves. Raimundo doubted he'd ever remember all these people's names but he was polite and welcomed them to the Xiaolin Temple. Several times they asked him if he really had killed Wuya and each time he would tell them yes he had and they would look at him with an expression of awe until Raimundo was tired of answering the same question over and over again.

A woman approached him next. If Raimundo had come across her in the street, he would never have thought of her as a soldier. She looked fairly young, around eighteen or nineteen. She had waist length hair so blonde it was almost golden which she had pulled back in a long, messy ponytail. Strands of it had freed itself from the bonds of the elastic band and were lying across her forehead and cheeks, which bloomed with natural colour. Her eyes were a warm, hazel colour that seemed to twinkle with good humour and mischief. Her clothes were loose fitting and a little baggy. A blade was secured to her belt.

"Leigh Carter," she said, shaking Raimundo's hand. She had a strong voice that didn't quite suit her face.

"Raimundo Pedrosa," Raimundo said, nodding to the girl. She smiled and moved away without another word to where the other new soldiers had gathered, in view of the training grounds so they could watch the other soldiers battling.

They were introduced to ten more new Xiaolin soldiers and then Master Fung called the new comers away to give them an introductory speech and start their training. The Xiaolin monks grouped together.

"Where are they all going to sleep? Do we have room for everyone?" Kimiko asked.

"There should be room, it's a big place. I suppose there's enough room in the cubicles as well for as other mattress, so we could share our rooms with someone," Clay said. "Sampson could move back into Kimiko's room with her and me and Omi could share with someone."

"Or we could all bunch together," Raimundo suggested "Me and Abi share my bed, so we could put another mattress in my room and Kimiko could share with us...if she wanted...and then you and Omi could share. Sampson can share Kimiko's room with one of the new soldiers."

"Will you and Abi not want some privacy?" Sampson asked Raimundo.

"It'd be nice, yes, but with the Temple this crowed privacy isn't really an option," Raimundo said.

"What do you think of them?" Sampson asked, drawing his eyes away from Raimundo's, who seemed to be watching him carefully.

"I think they could be very good soldiers with some training," Omi said.

"Some of them are quite young aren't they?" Kimiko said doubtfully. She seemed oblivious to the glances Raimundo and Sampson were throwing at each other, as if they were wordlessly challenging each other.

"Do you remember how old you were when you came to the Temple?" Clay asked her.

"Sixteen," Kimiko answered. "But we didn't come to fight a _war_."

"We still had to fight a lot. There was Jack, Wuya, Chase, Hannibal Bean. It was close enough," Clay said. "Besides, if Master Fung didn't think they were up to it he wouldn't let them fight."

"Point taken," Kimiko said. She glanced over the crowd of newcomers, gathered around the edge of the training grounds. She saw the blonde girl, Leigh, watching the fighting with an expression of longing on her face. She wanted to fight, that much was plain enough. Kimiko wondered if she was even old enough to understand what true warfare was. How much she was risking. How much was she prepared to sacrifice?

**.:.:.:.**

The days went by in quick succession. No one really spoke much to each other. The day was filled with training, chores and then more training. Every soldier turned in for the night at eleven o'clock, utterly exhausted, and then got up at six o'clock the next morning to begin another day's work. The new soldiers proved very skilled. Several times Kimiko had admitted defeat during a training session, although most of the time she still won but she put this down to several extra years of experience.

Due to the crowded conditions of the Temple and the training grounds, she had yet to see Leigh fighting and she was the one Kimiko was most interested in.

They had followed Clay's idea for sleeping quarters. Sampson had moved back into Kimiko's room and they now shared it, Omi and Clay shared Omi's room and Raimundo and Abi shared a room with a man in his late twenties named Jamie.

There were just two days left until their departure to France to fight against the Dark Queen's forces. It was the early hours of the morning and the night was cold. Kimiko sat in the wicker chair on the Temple's porch, as she had done so long ago, when Raimundo was still missing, believed dead. Once again, the chilly air enveloped her but she ignored it. Her breath rose in plume before her but she barely noticed. She stared out across the grounds, taking in the view of the rolling, frozen hills and the dark sky above, the moon casting silver rays across the landscape.

The door behind her opened but she did not turn to see who had joined her. Footsteps approached the second chair beside her and then Raimundo said, "Mind if I sit down?"

Kimiko looked up then and gave Raimundo a small smile and shook her head. He took a seat.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

"No," she sighed.

"Me either. That guy Jamie snores like a bitch. He's worse than Clay," Raimundo said. Kimiko laughed. They were silent for a while, the two of them sitting side by side and gazing out across China, similar thoughts racing through their heads, until Raimundo spoke again.

"Do you ever regret it?" he asked. "Coming here? Getting caught up in this war? There's so much at stake when you go into battle. Believe me, I know. I've seen true battle conditions. It was bad enough in the palace, but when you're on an actual battle field, the truth really hits home. You're surrounded by explosions and screams and blood and dead bodies and you're completely on your own. It's not like training; people aren't going to go easy on you, you can't just try again if you make a mistake. And you realise you might never walk away from that place. You might never see your friends or family again. You realise all the things you wanted to say to people that you never got the chance to, or never felt brave enough to. You walk onto that battle field and just accept that at some point you're going to die and it's probably going to be painful, and all you can do is try and take as many of the enemy down with you as possible."

Kimiko glanced at Raimundo and was, for the first time, struck by how incredibly human he was. Scars lined his face and exposed arms from his years of fighting in the war. His hair hung to his shoulders in tangles and could do with a wash. His green eyes were wide with sorrow and fear and ringed with dark shadows that showed he had not gotten enough sleep recently. And yet he had never looked more beautiful to her. She bit her tongue to stop herself saying the words that had risen to her throat. Raimundo was still watching her, expectantly.

"I don't really have anything to lose," Kimiko said at last. "For all I know, my daddy could be dead. My mum already is. She died when I was eight. I don't have anything else."

"You've got us," Raimundo said quietly. "You've got me."

Kimiko looked at Raimundo. His eyes were still on her and a small smile graced his face, but it was a sad smile.

"You're the only one who believed I was still alive."

"I wouldn't have accepted you were dead even if the proof was right in front of me," Kimiko shrugged. He glanced down at the floor, unable to meet Raimundo's eyes any longer.

"My brother's died Kimiko," Raimundo said. His voice was barely a whisper now. "I promised I'd save them and I...I got caught up in what was right in front of me that...I just...forgot about them. I didn't even look for them the whole time we were there. It's my fault they died."

"It's not your fault Rai," Kimiko said, still staring at the floor. "You had other things on your mind. Everyone was looking to you to actually defeat Wuya. I wouldn't have thought of much else either if I was in that position."

"My brother's died," Raimundo said again. "...Tell me about your mother."

Kimiko had known this was coming. She bit her lip, wondering if she really wanted to talk about it. Wondering what she would tell Raimundo if she decided to at all. Wondered where to even begin. She cleared her throat and hurriedly wiped her eyes with her hand. "She...she had depression," Kimiko said. "Really severe depression. Some days she'd be fine. She'd get up in the morning, she'd get dressed, she'd go out, she'd cook dinner. Everything was normal. Some days she wouldn't even get out of bed. Not even to use the toilet. That's one of the things that sticks with me the most. How she used to just lie in bed and...and my daddy would have to clean up after her and she wouldn't even help him. She'd just lie there and cry. She wouldn't eat. She wouldn't do anything. Even though daddy used to spend day after day running around after her, cleaning up after her, trying to get her to eat, trying to comfort her, I think he was still telling himself everything was going to be fine. He never got her any professional help. Then, we went out one day. Me and daddy. And when we came back, she was in the kitchen. She'd cut her wrists. She was just lying there on the floor, with blood all over her hands and the knife still in her hand," Kimiko's voice wavered but she forced tears back.

"What was her name?" Raimundo asked softly.

"Ami," Kimiko answered.

"Ami Tohomiko," Raimundo said. "It's a nice name."

"Yeah," Kimiko whispered. The tears danced in her eyes, blurring her vision.

"I want to tell you something Kimiko," Raimundo said. "And you need to remember this. No matter what happens, you're never going to be on your own. I'm always going to be here for you." He reached out to her and placed his fingers under her chin, gently lifting her face towards him. He wiped away her tears with his thumb and then leaned forward and kissed her softly on the mouth. Then he got to his feet and was gone.

**.:.:.:.**

The morning of the battle dawned, cold and wet. The Shen Gong Wu was packed into a sack, supplies where put into packs for several soldiers to carry. No one spoke. It was plain on everyone's face that they knew they might never return to the Xiaolin Temple again.

Just like the battle at the palace, Dojo made several trips there and back to transport all the soldiers to their destination. French countryside. It was easy enough to fly over the borders, they were protected from the skies. It was eerily quiet, yet there was a feeling of expectancy amongst Xiaolin forces. Without knowing how they knew, they knew the Dark Queen's army had been waiting for them and would be arriving soon. The same look was on every face in view; anxiety, nausea and determination. Despite the knowledge that they could die at any moment, no one was going to back out. The Xiaolin monks spotted Leigh Carter, gazing around the countryside with vague interest, as if she were on nothing more dangerous than a school trip. Her was pulled back into her usually ponytail, but a lot of it hung loose about her face. She was spinning the blade she usually kept in her belt around the index finger of her right hand. She alone seemed to be a perfect ease; there was not one hint of worry or fear on her young face. Kimiko envied her. Kimiko glanced toward Raimundo, who stood at the head of the group with Master Fung, slightly ahead of the other monks. He smiled encouragingly at her and she felt an unusual sense of courage flood through her. She returned his smile.

"What's that?" someone from the crowd of soldiers said. Every head turned slightly to the right where a dark mass was approaching in the distance. As they neared they were more distinguishable; thousands and thousands of cloaked and hooded figures, gliding across the long, dewy grass. Their arms were held rigidly at their sides, their sleeves almost long enough to sweep the tips of the grass.

"This is it," Raimundo said quietly. He raised his voice slightly as the figures closed the distance between them and several of the cloaked creatures near the front raised their arms, ready to attack, "Get ready!"

**I hope you liked it. The next chapter should be quite long. I'll update as soon as I can, I just can't promise how soon is soon I'm afraid. Anyways, don't forget to review!**


	31. Crystal Palace

**I'm so, so, so sorry with how long this took, my work load is getting ridiculous. To CreateElements, I'm really sorry this is too late for your birthday but I hope you had a really good day and consider this a very late present (I hope it makes up for its lateness) and to LovePrincessZ and ILoveXS, I hope you feel better now and I'm also sort I couldn't update soon enough to make being ill a little more bearable. I hope this chapter is good enough to make you forgive me for being so slow at updating recently. I haven't proof read it as it's now midnight and I've been doing college work all day so forgive me if there are any errors or any sentances that don't make sense. Enjoy it anyway!**

**Chapter 31**

**Crystal Palace**

The battle had begun before any of the Xiaolin warriors even had time to register it. Every single cloaked figure before them raised both arms stiffly into the air, the too long sleeves flapped in the wind, their hands still hidden from view. From every hand, millions of them, shot a single beam of silver, looking a lot like threads of silk. The beams accumulated in a growing mass hovering in the air above their hooded heads. The mass of Xiaolin soldiers were nothing short of hypnotised by this almost beautiful sight. It was not until someone screamed as the silver mass was launched at them did the paralysis break. They scattered in a confusion of bodies and shrieks. Some were knocked over in the flood and were trampled. Raimundo found Abi, shorter than most, getting shoved in the opposite direction as people pushed their way past. He seized her hand and ran. Those who were too slow took the blow. There was a blast of silver light and a force so powerful everyone was knocked to the ground. Dust hung in the air, disturbed by the explosion. Raimundo coughed and spat the dust and dirt in his mouth onto the ground. Beside him, Abi was doing the same.

"Are you alright?" Abi asked.

"Fine," Raimundo said. He got to his feet and pulled Abi up. The dust was settling again and he could see the gigantic crater in the ground where the silver bomb had impacted. What lay in the crater was gruesome. The walls of the crater where splashed with blood and there was a tangle of bones in the middle. No flesh or organs. Just bones. As if everything else had been vaporised in the blast.

Already, the air around them was filled with yells and shouts and strange dark magic as the Xiaolin began to fight the Dark Queen's forces. A burst of fire streaked past Raimundo and Abi, only just missing them and Kimiko squealed.

"I'm so sorry Rai!" she said.

"It's fine, it missed," Raimundo answered. Kimiko went back to her battle. Raimundo turned to Abi. "You'd better be careful Abi."

"As long as you are," Abi said. She smiled a little and kissed him quickly on the lips then turned and raced off into the battle, her long plait trailing behind her, cutting through the air. Raimundo ran in the opposite direction to assist a soldier who was trying to take on three of the cloaked figures at once.

Kimiko spied the blonde girl, Leigh Carter, battling two of the cloaked figures. And winning. She was managing something not many people were. When Kimiko looked around, she saw most of their army being overpowered by the opposition. Some were lying dead or dying on the ground. Thankfully, none of them were Omi, Clay, Raimundo or Sampson. But Leigh. Leigh was outnumbered and winning. She was battling with such agility Kimiko would never have believed from a girl of her age. She still held the blade in her right hand as she flipped straight over the two cloaked figures. Once behind them, she spun quickly on the spot and sank the blade all the way to the hilt through the hood of one of the figures cloaks. After seeing what had happened to Omi's leg after he had tried kicking one of the figures, Kimiko expected to see the blade of the knife had melted. Or frozen. Instead, the figure crumpled to the ground and remained still. It was dead. Leigh swept wild blonde hair from her hazel eyes and faced the remaining cloaked figure, her face set.

It was a second before Kimiko realised she was standing motionless and completely defenceless in the middle of a battle field. She quickly glanced around just in time to see a swirl of black cloak. She felt something so cold it almost burned go straight through her. Not around her, or over her. Straight through her. She was knocked over backwards. Her whole body was numb and she did not even feel the ground as she hit it. Someone screamed her name and suddenly Sampson was standing over her.

"Kimiko!" he said again, crouching down beside her. She tried to sit up, but her body simply refused to move. She felt weak. The world swam in and out of focus around her; dulling to grey and then coming back for a few seconds and then fading away again. The sounds of the battle seemed distant and insignificant. She had expected death to be painful, but she felt nothing. She felt like she could just close her eyes and sleep but Sampson was leaning over her. She could hardly hear him but he seemed to be telling her not to close her eyes. He didn't want her to sleep. He loved her.

The world temporarily came back with a jolt as Sampson leaned over and kissed her on the lips, tears dancing in his eyes. Then the world was slipping away again. Her mind only just registered the fact that Sampson had been knocked aside and instead Raimundo was at her side. She smiled a little at him and then her eyes closed.

"Kimiko!" Raimundo screamed as Kimiko's slowly closed. He raised his face to the sky, scanning it for a green streak that was Dojo. He spotted it and called for him at the top of his lungs. Dojo didn't hear him. He was circling the battle. Raimundo glanced down at Kimiko. She was struggling to breathe but at the minute she _was_ breathing. He called for Dojo again and this time Dojo heard and flew to the ground. His eyes widened when he saw Kimiko. In his hand was the Healing Hand of Dashi. He raised the Shen Gong Wu and said its name. Golden light leaked from it into the air and enveloped Kimiko. Her whole body seemed to sparkle with brilliance and then it seeped into her, flowing inside her through her wounds which healed themselves. She lay still. Raimundo bit his lip, sure they had been too late. Then Kimiko hitched in breath, deeper than she had managed before. Sampson was back at her side, for the moment letting Raimundo's attack go; Kimiko's life was more important.

Her blue eyes fluttered open and she gazed up at the sky. She seemed confused about had just happened. Then her eyes widened and she sat bolt upright. Raimundo placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," he said softly. Her eyes darted around her surroundings then fell on Raimundo and Sampson, both wearing identical expressions of concern. Her gaze rested on Sampson a little longer and he knew she remembered what he had said to her as she lay dying. Then she looked at Raimundo.

"...I nearly died!" she said and Raimundo could not withhold the laughter than build up inside him. Sampson threw him a dirty glance as Raimundo cackled. Kimiko watched Raimundo for a few seconds before her own lips broke into a smile.

"Sorry," Raimundo said at last, calming down.

"No offence, but you _do_ realise we're in the middle of a war don't you?" asked a voice. Leigh was stood beside them. There was a long scratch down her left cheek and blood was drying on the right knee of her jeans. "Are you okay?" she asked Kimiko.

Kimiko nodded.

"Right, we'd better get back to it then, these fuckers aren't going to kill themselves," Leigh said and with that she was racing off again. Raimundo pulled Kimiko to her feet. He left immediately, knowing he had left the battle for too long.

"That thing went through me," Kimiko said to Sampson. "How did it do that? What the fuck are they?"

"I really couldn't tell you," Sampson said quietly. He was now not sure whether telling Kimiko how he felt was a good idea. He had wanted her to know because she was dying, but now she seemed to be avoiding mentioning it.

"DUCK!" Kimiko screamed suddenly. She seized Sampson by the hand and pulled him down as another cloaked thing soared over their heads, its arms held out to the sides like wings, so that it's long sleeves trailed behind it.

Once it had passed over them Kimiko jumped to her feet again and screamed, "Fire!" A jet of flames shot from both hands and encased the flying figure. Its cloak caught fire and fell to the ground. Empty. There was nothing inside the burning fabric. Kimiko stared.

"This is getting too weird," Sampson sighed.

"What the fuck?" Kimiko muttered to herself. She had no time to complete this however as another enemy hurtled straight for her and she immediately sprang into action, making a quick mental note to ask Leigh Carter (if she ever got the chance) what they were actually fighting. Leigh, at least, seemed to have some idea of what they were facing.

Sampson's heart dropped when he saw Kimiko's new opponent conjure another of those silky, silver threadlike things. Although one alone could nowhere near enough power to create the destruction a million of them together could, he knew it was still dangerous, maybe even deadly. His feet seemed glued to the ground, his whole body frozen. He already almost lost her, not even ten minutes ago. The silver thread shot at Kimiko like a spider's web, to entangle and kill her like a fly and she stood there, seemingly in the same state of panic at Sampson himself. Then she screamed and his paralysis broke. He ran forward a few paces and yelled, "Typhoon boom, WIND!" At the same time Kimiko dodged out of its way, the lethal silver thread was knocked off course and hit another cloaked figure. The figure's black cloak and whatever was inside it turned to dust. The dust dispersed into the air there was nothing left of the foe. Kimiko was once again staring at empty space, her mouth hanging open. But now she looked angry and Sampson could almost feel anger pouring off her in waves.

"HOW THE FUCK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT AGAINST THAT?" she screamed. All bangs and screams and flashes and cries ceased as everyone stopped battling to look at her. She stood with her fists balled at her sides and her eyes narrowed with fury.

"THIS ISN'T FAIR!" she screeched. And, as if in answer to her previous question, every single cloaked figure raised their hand towards the sky, as they had done before to create the monstrous silver bomb, and everything went black.

Instant dread and fear overwhelmed Sampson. He wanted to run and keep running forever but he feet refused to move. It was as if all light had been erased from the world and, due to the utter silence that enveloped him, it was easy to believe that sound had gone with it.

It was like the creatures had been waiting for the perfect moment to perform this attack.

"Kimiko?" Sampson whispered. His voice carried easily, as if they were in a room and not outside in open countryside. "Make a fire so we can see."

Then someone squealed and Sampson knew it was Kimiko.

"Hey, what are you-" Clay began before his voice was cut off.

Another yell.

A scream.

A thud.

Cold, clammy arms encased in a rough material wrapped themselves around Sampson's waist, seeming to burn and freeze at the same time and Sampson felt a scream rise up and die in his throat. Then he felt his strength leaving him, just as it had that night in Essex when he had gone to rescue his family from the battle. Sampson passed out.

**.:.:.:.**

Raimundo groaned. Every inch of his body was singing with agony and he felt for now he could face the torture of opening his eyes so he lay with them closed for a while. He could hear whispering around him and then Omi and Clay's voices were distinguishable. Slowly, he opened his eyes and nausea instantly washed over him as the dizzying world spun around him. He rolled onto his stomach and vomited onto the floor.

"Rai!" two voices gasped at once and then Kimiko and Abi were at his side. Abi pulled Raimundo's hair back from his face to avoid getting vomit in it.

Raimundo spat onto the floor, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand then pushed himself up into a kneeling position and his heart sank as he looked around. He knew where they were. He recognised those translucent black diamond walls. The room they were in did not look like a prison cell and yet Raimundo knew it was. There seemed to be no door. They were now The Dark Queen's prisoners.

"How long have we been here for?" he asked, rather groggily.

"A few hours," Clay shrugged. "That's what I'm guessin' anyways. Feels more like a few weeks."

"Have any of those things been here?" Raimundo said. Everyone shook their heads. Looking around he could see hundreds of faces, all belonging to their army, but there were a much smaller number of soldiers than they had been when they entered France.

"You don't know what they are, do you?" Leigh asked quietly.

"No, but you obviously do, I saw you fighting them. Tell us what they are," Kimiko demanded, but Leigh only shook her head.

"You're better off not knowing," she said and fell silent. Kimiko went on to try and force the answer out of her but she kept silent.

"I'm glad you're okay, Rai," Abi said. "This is where you were before isn't it?"

"Yeah," Raimundo answered. He ran a hand through his hair. The world had finally come to a standstill but his body still ached as if he had recently endured a beating. Omi crossed the space between them and sat down cross-legged before Raimundo.

"You are our leader Raimundo, you must tell us what to do," Omi said solemnly.

"I..." Raimundo stopped. He knew telling them he didn't know what to do would cause a panic and he didn't want to do that. He took a breath, wet his lips and then said, "I'm working it out." Omi nodded curtly, got back to his feet and returned to Master Fung and Clay.

There was a rumbling sound. Silence descended. Then, a door, which moments ago had looked like a blank stretch of wall, began to open, its edges seeming to appear from nowhere. One of the Dark Queen's soldiers- or perhaps this was a servant- hovered into the room, its cloak floating lazily around it as if in a light breeze. Slowly, it raised one shrouded arm and pointed at Sampson.

"You will speak with Her Majesty," it said. It's voice sounded ill-used and painful.

"Oh, will I?" Sampson snapped angrily. the cloaked thing wrapped a hidden hand around Sampson's wrist and Sampson shrieked in fear and pain and shoved at the creature. Shoved hard. The hood slipped down, revealing a grotesquely charred face, where some of the burnt flesh had peeled away revealing the bone beneath, and staring, empty eye sockets.

Kimiko screamed.

"I killed you!" Kimiko cried, backing away in horror. The hideous head turned to face her and, amazingly, a menacing smile stretched across it.

"I told you you were better off not knowing," Leigh said.

"I am confused," Omi piped up.

"I killed him!" Kimiko repeated. "That's Ty. He's dead! I watched him burn! That's what The Dark Queen's soldiers are? She's got a fucking army of dead people!"

There were several gasps of terror and disgust and the distinctive sound of several people retching.

All the strength ran out of Sampson's legs as Ty's living corpse dragged him from the room. The door swung shut and became just a blank stretch of diamond wall once again. Abruptly, Kimiko burst into tears. Raimundo was at her side in an instant and he out his arm around her and she wept onto his shoulder.

"But...how did you know what they were?" Omi asked, turning to Leigh.

"I fought them back at home. The Dark Queen took over Canada and they were everywhere. Me and a group of others started training to kill them. That's why I came to China to help. I've been fighting them for three years now, since I was thirteen," Leigh said.

"You're _sixteen_?" Kimiko said, turning her tear streaked face to Leigh. Leigh nodded. "Oh my god," Kimiko laughed as her tears persisted.

"You were fighting those things when you were thirteen?" Clay asked, sounding impressed.

"Had no choice really," Leigh said. "They killed my parents. They were after me after I started killing them so I was constantly on the run, me and a few friends. They all died. That was when I came here."

"Leigh Carter, please tell us how to defeat them," Omi said.

"Well, they can turn themselves into ghosts at will, so you can't touch them. So you need to catch them by surprise. It's best to be able to sneak up on them. It's just like fighting a normal opponent if they're in a solid form. That is, all of your attacks will do them damage. But you really need to avoid touching them. If you touch them, whether they're solid or ghost, it'll hurt like hell. Usually if they're ghost and you touch them it burns. And usually wounds too. So you should go for attacks that don't involve physically touching them like kicking and punching," Leigh said.

"We're in a lot of trouble aren't we?" someone said.

Silence.

"What do you think they're doing to Sampson?" Kimiko asked.

Silence.

**.:.:.:.**

Sampson screamed and covered his ears, trying to block the voice out but it was no use. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere. From inside his own head.

"_Tell me which of your army possess Shen Gong Wu,"_ the voice demanded. In the most inhuman voice Sampson had ever heard and it made his whole body cry out in pain. It made the world tremble. And yet its source was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know!" Sampson wailed.

"_LIAR!"_ the voice bellowed and Sampson's scream was drowned in the sound of that unearthly voice.

"_I need the Shen Gong Wu, and you _will_ help me to get it, Sampson Page,"_ the voice told Sampson. Sampson vomited onto the floor and saw that his sick had blood in it. He moaned.

"Please stop," he pleaded weakly. "I can't take this."

Silence.

"JUST FUCKING KILL ME!" Sampson screamed at the seemingly empty room. And The Dark Queen began to laugh. It ripped through Sampson and he tried to scream but only a low gurgle escaped his bleeding through. Old wounds tore open and began bleeding again and soon he was soaked with it and still The Dark Queen laughed and laughed and laughed.

Finally, when Sampson felt he could take no more and his clothes were scarlet with blood, she stopped.

"_Do you know why none know me, Sampson Page?"_ the voice pondered. _"I'll show you_."

There was a sense of air compacting, as if it was being filled by some unimaginably powerful presence stronger than anything that ever was. And The Dark Queen stood before Sampson. His eyes widened for only an instant. Then his senses failed him and his head hit the floor with a dull crack as he fainted dead away.

**I hope you liked it. I'll honestly try my best to update as quickly as I can but I'm doing so much at college and getting so much work to do at home that I'm finding time to do little else. Please, please, please review and tell me what you think.**


	32. The Dark Queen

**You have no idea how difficult college is at the moment but I'm wallowing in self pity as Evanescence are playing tonight and I was going to go but the tickets sold out. So, I thought I'd try and cheer myself up with a bit of writing. Please leave some nice reviews to make me feel happy! I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 32**

**The Dark Queen**

Kimiko, Clay, Omi and Raimundo knelt by Sampson's side. He had been brought back to the cell an hour ago, hovering off the ground before one of The Dark Queen's repulsive servants. His wounds had stopped bleeding and begun their healing process but he remained unconscious, with no signs of waking up.

"What did she do to him?" Kimiko asked, gazing down into Sampson's pale, blood streaked face.

"That's what I looked like after she spoke to me," Raimundo said.

"She did this to him...just by _talking_ to him?" Kimiko exclaimed.

Raimundo nodded and sighed heavily.

"What the fuck are we going to do? We can't fight against something like this!"

"Are you suggesting we just give up?" Omi asked accusingly.

"Of course not!" Kimiko cried. "But...how to we fight her. How does _anyone_ fight her when she could cause this much damage just by fucking _speaking_?"

Omi had no answer and so he remained silent. Kimiko then turned her furious, desperate glare on Leigh Carter, who shrugged, not intimidated at all by the fury of her response in Kimiko's narrowed eyes.

"I've only fought the soldiers. I don't know how to fight The Dark Queen," Leigh said calmly. "But we'll do it. We can't let her win."

"Easy enough for you to say," Kimiko snapped. She turned her back on Leigh and gently brushed clumps on blood soaked blonde hair from Sampson's face.

There was a rumble as the hidden door opened again and every conscious soul in the room retreated a few steps, not wanting to be the next one taken to The Dark Queen for fear of a fate similar to Sampson's.

The creature hovered into the room, its cloak billowing around it. It stopped. And then slowly, it raised its arms to its hood and lowered it. It was clear who this action was directed at immediately. Revealed was the scarred, twisted, crushed face of Carlos Pedrosa. There was scream of outrage, a shriek of fear and then Raimundo had pulled himself out of Abi's restraining grip and lunged at the corpse of his dead brother. Carlos' corpse moved lazily to the side and Raimundo collided with the wall, recovered and turned to face the hovering body again. He rushed forward a few steps and then was knocked sideways in a whirl of golden hair as Leigh Carter caught him around the middle and threw him off course.

"It'll kill you Raimundo!" Leigh yelled as her hands seized Raimundo's arms and tried to restrain him as he fought desperately to get at the impossible creature before him. Raimundo was screaming in Portuguese, tears cascading down his cheeks in a mixture of grief and rage and every other soul in the room was pressed protectively back against the wall, out of the way.

The hood was raised again and the face was mercifully hidden once more. The creature floated towards Raimundo, its cloak swimming around it as if it were underwater. One hand was raised and with a scream, Leigh was thrown backwards, away from Raimundo. She hit the wall and collapsed in a heap to the floor, blood welling from a split on the side of her head. Raimundo ran forward again but before he had reached his brother's corpse, he was lifted off his feet, as Sampson had been and, in a swish of putrid smelling black cloak, both Raimundo and the creature were gone from sight. Silence followed for a few moments. And then Abi burst into tears. Kimiko threw her a scathing look then returned her attention to Sampson, trying to block out all thought of what might be happening to Raimundo.

**.:.:.:.**

Raimundo was thrown sprawling onto the floor in the centre of the room he had seen once before and had hoped never to see again. It was massive. Probably big enough to fit something twice the size of the Xiaolin Temple comfortably inside it. Every inch of the crystal walls were covered with strange carvings that made no sense to Raimundo. Before him was a raised platform, curtained off by long, black, velvet drapes.

He felt something wet touch his skin and he looked down and felt his stomach turn; he had been thrown into a puddle of fresh blood which he knew was Sampson's and it had begun to soak into his clothes.

The undead corpse of his brother silently left the room threw a door camouflaged into the wall like the one in the cell. A deadly silence fell and Raimundo could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he pushed himself up to his feet again and glanced nervously around the room. His eyes were drawn back to the velvet curtains and he realised they were swaying slightly, as if a gust of wind had just passed through them. He shuddered.

And then the voice came. The voice from everywhere and nowhere. The voice that caused unimaginable, unendurable pain that caused impossible physical and mental agony to anyone who heard it.

"_We meet again, Raimundo Pedrosa_," that voice said, and Raimundo screamed and fell to his knees again. "_I believe you will be much more useful to me this time. You are, I believe, the strongest of your army, are you not? And yet here you are, kneeling before me as your friend did before you,"_ the voice let loose an unearthly cackle and Raimundo felt blood running over his lips and chin from his nose and mouth. Before the war began he would never have believed it was possible to cause such damage to a person without ever touching them, but he had not met the Dark Queen then.

The pain ripped through him and images flashed through his mind. Bethania standing before him in the Temple grounds as she told him Reynaldo and Carlos had not gotten out of Wuya's Palace. Kimiko dying on the battlefield in France. He heard a scream and realised it was issuing from his own mouth. His hair hung limply before his eyes, obscuring his vision but he hardly noticed. He found himself wishing desperately that he had perished under the rubble of Wuya's palace along with his brothers.

The pain ebbed slowly away and Raimundo was left lying on his stomach on the floor, panting and sweating and bleeding. He pushed himself shakily to his hands and knees and the world swan before him. He vomited onto the floor and collapsed back onto his stomach again with a grimace of surprise. He could not see it, but he felt blood trickling down his arms and legs and back and knew that wounds had been opened there and were now bleeding freely. He felt weak.

**.:.:.:.**

Sampson had still not come round, but his bleeding had stopped and his previously shallow breathing was slowly returning to normal. Kimiko, Omi and Clay knelt by his side, none of the speaking. Around them, there were conversations going on in hushed whispers, many of them sounding frightened.

"What do you think will happen to Raimundo?" Omi asked at last. Kimiko glanced up at him and he shrank back, as if expecting a blow, but her eyes were soft now, a filmed with tears she did not allow to fall. That was answer enough for Omi and he dropped his gaze back to Sampson's pale, blood streaked face.

Footsteps approached them and then Abi kneeled beside Clay. She placed her fingers on the side of Sampson's neck and felt for a pulse.

"He's lost a lot of blood, but I think he'll be okay," she said.

"We'd figured that out for ourselves thanks," Kimiko snapped.

"I'm just trying to help!" Abi retorted.

"We don't need your help!" Kimiko said, her voice now rising beyond a whisper. Several people glanced at her nervously, but Abi looked fiercely back at her.

"At least I'm doing something Kimiko," Abi said. "What are _you_ doing? Holding his hand won't make him any better!"

"There's nothing we _can_ do!" Kimiko yelled. Her cheeks were flushed with anger.

"Ladies, please, this ain't the time to be arguing," Clay said, making sure he was placed between Kimiko and Abi in case they gave up yelling and just attacked each other instead. "We need to focus on getting Sampson better, hopin' Rai's okay and then getting the hell out of here!"

"She doesn't give a shot about Rai," Abi shot at Kimiko, who was momentarily stunned into silence and her mouth dropped open.

"What the...why would..." Kimiko spluttered. "WHY THE FUCK DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH IF YOU THINK I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT RAI? ARE YOU A FUCKING IDIOT?"

The others in the room began to back away from the yelling girls.

"Are you saying you do care about him then?" Abi asked.

"OF COURSE I FUCKING CARE ABOUT HIM, I FUCKING LOVE HIM!"

Several seconds of silence that felt like several hours descended on the occupants of the cell. Then Abi threw Clay out of the way with surprising strength and lunged at Kimiko. Kimiko shrieked but more with anger to match Abi's than with fear.

Clay looked desperately at Omi as the two girls became a blur of fists, but Omi simply stood staring at them with a puzzled expression on his face, as if wondering how they had managed to get from worrying about Sampson and Raimundo to trying to break each other's noses.

Abi was thrown backwards and skidded along the smooth floor, but managed to retain her balance. She snarled at Kimiko and ran at her, raising her right fist as she went. Kimiko dodged her easily, tripped her up and kicked her in the ribs. Abi yelled in pain as she received the blow to her side at the same time as her hands and knees connected painfully with the crystal floor. Without thinking of what she was doing, she bucked her back legs out and caught Kimiko in the stomach with both feet. Kimiko fell backwards, winded. That was when Sampson woke up.

**.:.:.:.**

"_You really _are_ stronger than the rest,"_ the Dark Queen said in genuine astonishment as Raimundo hauled himself to his feet and swiped angrily at the hair that fell into his eyes.

"You're aware of what happened to Wuya when she hurt my friends aren't you?" Raimundo growled. He tasted blood in his throat and the blood on his chin was drying to form a crust but he barely noticed.

"_Yes, I heard about how you used her own magic against her. Very clever. I'm afraid that won't work on me though,"_ the Dark Queen said. The sound of her voice once again tore through Raimundo and he swayed unsteadily on his feet for a moment as a grimace of pain flashed across his face but he fought against it.

"_My, my, such strength. Such bravery!" _the Dark Queen marvelled. _"I should have kept you here the first time I captured you. You're much more entertaining that the others of your species."_

"Tell me what you want!" Raimundo demanded. He was glaring at the black velvet curtains, sure the Dark Queen was behind them even though he could not see her if she was standing right in front of him. The thought of speaking to someone hidden behind a curtain reminded him bizarrely of _The Wizard of Oz._ "Tell me why you're doing this!"

"_I want to rule the world. I'm eliminating all those who stand in my way. That, Raimundo Pedrosa, is you."_

"Well you know me, let me see you," Raimundo said.

"_You dare to look upon me, after seeing what happened to the Page boy?"_

"So that was off seeing what you look like?" Raimundo asked cautiously.

"_Yes, but he won't remember it_," the Dark Queen cackled. Raimundo felt his strength and courage slipping away but he held on as tight as he could, trying to block those awful images and memories from his mind. He casts his mind about, searching for something strong to hold on to, something to keep him going. He found it. He forced himself to focus on her fierce eyes, her silky black hair and his strength partly returned.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," he said.

There was silence, as the Dark Queen seemed to consider for a moment. Then she said, _"Very well. We shall see how strong you really are, Raimundo Pedrosa."_

The curtains parted and she emerged. Raimundo's eyes widened and then his vision swam. He swayed on his feet and then fell to the floor. He heard her laughing cruelly, but the laughter was fading away, as if he were moving away from it. His vision was coming back into focus though. He reached out with his mind and grasped at the image that had given him strength before. The feeling of pain in his body grew stronger. The laughter grew louder and clearer once more. He groaned as the pain throbbed.

The laughter stopped abruptly as Raimundo first pushed himself onto his hands and knees and then got gingerly back to his feet. He turned to face her again. She was an impossibly life form, made of clear, almost completely transparent air, like a ghost. Her barely human features were easy to miss if you were not looking for them. If not for the distortions of objects behind her it would be very easy to look right through her and not see her at all. There was an immense sense of power radiating off her and it seemed to scramble Raimundo's brains, and made his thoughts disorientated, like listening to a radio with a bad signal. He believed this feeling was what made people pass out when they saw her.

With her appearance came a new sense of sinking dread; how were they supposed to fight a creature made solely of air.

"What are you?" Raimundo asked. His head was pounding, and he felt dizzier than he had ever been in his life but he clung to consciousness with all his might.

"_I could ask you the same. Never in all my life have I met someone who was able to face me, like this! You're extraordinary! You should be on my side, not the Xiaolin side."_

"I tried something similar to that once. I didn't care for it," Raimundo replied as casually as he could. The Dark Queen shrieked laughter that split Raimundo's head in two. She descended from the raised platform and approached him. He felt the sense of distortion and impossible pain intensifying and took a step back from her.

"_I think you're going to prove most useful to me. For now I will allow you to return to your cage and recover. Then we'll get down to business."_

"What business?" Raimundo asked. But the Dark Queen drifted away and the curtains closed. A cloaked corpse entered the room and Raimundo was taken back to "the cage", his mind already ticking over ideas and plans of how to fight this terrible entity.

**Oooh, I think we may be reaching the end soon. I say I think because I haven't planned it all the way through yet, so I could be wrong. But yes, stuff is beginning to happen! I hope you liked it, remember to review please!**


	33. The Plan

**Abysmally short chapter for such a long wait I know and I sincerely apologise, but my internet is broke and I had to write this in the short space of time I had internet access. I decided to do this rather than revise for my exams next week so n matter how rushed and short it might be, you should be grateful haha. I did my best, I really did, so I hope you like it. It could be a while before the next update but I swear I'll update when I can.**

**Chapter 33**

**The Plan**

"Sampson!" Kimiko gasped, tears at last falling freely down her cheeks. Tears of relief.

"What...what happened?" Sampson mumbled. He tried to sit up, groaned in pain and lay back down again, his eyes closed.

"The Dark Queen is what happened," Abi said. Her lower lip was bleeding from her fight with Kimiko but she seemed not to notice.

"The Dark...oh my god!" Sampson succeeded in sitting up this time, no matter what pain it caused him. His eyes were wide with fear and panic. "WHERE!"

"Not here, idiot," Abi said.

"Excuse me, do you mind not insulting people who have just nearly died?" Kimiko said in a saccharine voice, without looking at Abi.

"Well I'm very sorry if I'm worrying about someone _else_ nearly dying," Abi retorted through clenched teeth.

"...What's going on?" Sampson asked, puzzled.

"Never mind, just worry about yourself okay?" Kimiko said softly.

"Yeah, let's not worry about Rai," Abi said airily.

"Will you shut up?" Kimiko snapped.

"What the hell?" said a voice from the corner. Kimiko and Abi whipped round and stared in the direction of the voice. No one had even noticed Raimundo's return. He stood, soaked in blood, pale as a ghost and looking utterly bewildered.

"Rai!" Kimiko and Abi gasped at the same time. Both girls got up and ran to Raimundo. Kimiko gave Abi a rough shove out of the way and threw herself on Raimundo.

"I thought she was going to kill you!" Kimiko sobbed as Abi got back to her feet behind her, scowling. "I thought at the very least you'd come back looking like Sampson. How did you-"

She was cut off as Abi took Raimundo by the arms, tugged him away from Kimiko and planted a large (and bloody) kiss on his lips.

"You're okay!" she exclaimed, flinging her arms around him and throwing an evil smile at Kimiko.

"This could get nasty," Clay muttered to Omi, who simply shrugged, clueless.

Raimundo pulled away from Abu, limped over to where Sampson, Omi and Clay where and sat on the floor with a grimace of pain.

"You don't remember what happened do you?" he asked Sampson. "When you were taken to see the Dark Queen?"

Sampson shook his head slowly.

"I can."

There was a sharp intake of breath from many of the warriors around them and all eyes turned to Raimundo. Kimiko and Abi, casting malevolent glares at each other, sat down as far apart from each other as possible. Raimundo told them what he had seen.

"What are we supposed to do then?" Leigh Carter asked in a hushed voice when he had finished.

"I'm still working on it, but I'll come up with something," Raimundo said.

"What if there's nothing we can do?" Abi asked.

"There will be," Kimiko said.

"If there isn't, then we die here," Raimundo said flatly.

.:.:.:.

The hours dragged by. Kimiko and Abi had ended up on opposite ends of the cage and were avoiding eye contact. Raimundo sat in a corner on his own, deep in thought. The cage was silent. Clay approached Raimundo and sat down without a word, waiting to be acknowledged.

"You alright?" Raimundo asked after several minutes.

"I'm fine. Those two," Clay said glancing in the directions of Kimiko and Abi, "aren't."

"Yeah, they seem a bit off," Raimundo said.

Clay was surprised into laughter which echoed oddly around the room.

"Off? Is that what you call it? Did you never wonder why the pair of them had blood on them? They were fighting."

"What was it this time?"

"You," Clay said.

Raimundo looked up at Clay and said uncertainly, "...me?"

"Have you really not noticed anything?" Clay raised an eyebrow.

"Well...sort of..." Raimundo said slowly.

"Rai," Clay said with a sigh. "Believe me, I'd rather Kimiko said it you herself but by the looks of things it's never gonna happen and since there might never be another chance, I'm gonna tell you myself." He paused, as if having last minute thoughts and then said, "She loves you."

"...I'm sorry, what?" Raimundo asked.

"She loves you," Clay repeated, looking at Raimundo levelly.

Raimundo glanced across the room at Kimiko who was sitting in her own corner, her arms wrapped around her knees which were drawn up to her chest. Her head rested on her arms but her eyes were open and strangely distant looking.

"Ooh, is _that_ why Abi and Kimiko hate each other?" Raimundo asked.

"You can be a real idiot sometimes you know," Clay chuckled. "Just let me ask you something and I'm sorry if I'm out of order to ask but, how do you feel about Abi?"

"She's my girlfriend," Raimundo said.

"That's not an answer," Clay said.

"She's brilliant. She saved my life," Raimundo said.

"Kimiko risked _her_ life getting into Brazil to look for you. She never once gave up on you. She hated Sampson because he was replacing you. She'd do anything for you."

"Clay," Raimundo cut across him. "Please. Don't."

Clay gaped at Raimundo. Then he got up and walked away without a word. Raimundo watched him go and then his eyes drifted back to Kimiko again. Then to Abi. Then back to Kimiko. He thought back to when he had faced the Dark Queen. Then he got up, stood there indecisive and then went over to Kimiko. Just as Clay had done, he sat down beside her and waited for her to speak to first.

"Why aren't you speaking to Abi?" Kimiko asked, without looking at him.

"Because I wanted to talk to you," Raimundo answered.

Kimiko said nothing and they fell into silence for a few minutes. Kimiko rested her head on her arms again and Raimundo watching Abi throwing scandalised looks at them. Then he turned his attention back to Kimiko, took a deep breath, opened his mouth to speak. Then closed it again.

"Clay told me...about you fighting with Abi and...and how you tried to find me and...you know...stuff."

"Stuff?" Kimiko asked, a humourless smile on her face.

More silence.

Again, Raimundo opened his mouth to say something. Then closed it again. He saw Abi give him another hurt, rejected look and then he glanced sideways at Kimiko and realised she had been there all along.

"I love you too," he said.

"...What?" Kimiko asked, finally raising her head from her arms.

"I should have told you years ago," Raimundo said. "I love you."

Kimiko let out a squeal and dived on Raimundo, knocking him backwards on the floor and kissing him on the lips. Raimundo laughed.

"What are you doing?" Abi asked. Neither of them had noticed her approach and she stood looking down on them, a picture of rage.

"...Abi..." Raimundo said uneasily, slowly getting to his feet.

"Yes Raimundo?" Abi asked, a false smile spreading across her lips.

"I'm sorry," Raimundo said.

"I'll give you sorry!" Abi screamed. She punched Raimundo. Raimundo staggered backwards and would have fallen if not for the wall behind him. Kimiko screamed in outrage and tried to lunge at Abi, but Raimundo had recovered quickly and pulled her back. He placed himself between the two girls, opened his mouth to begin his explanation and then the hidden door opened and the cloaked corpse glided into the room. It raised an arm. With a panicked shriek, Leigh Carter was lifted off the floor.

"Put me down!" Leigh screamed. "Put me down now! Help!"

She was levitated out of the room, ahead of the cloaked corpse. The door shut.

"Leigh was one of our best soldiers," one of the other soldiers said after about five minutes.

"Was?" Kimiko asked. "Who said anything about _was_? Sampson and Rai came back alive."

Kimiko seemed to be the only one who hadn't noticed the way Sampson was looking at Raimundo.

"If we're going to fight, we need to do it soon," Clay said, casually placing himself between Sampson and Raimundo. He didn't expect Sampson to do anything, but it was just a precaution. Just in case.

"I think I have one," Raimundo said. "You still got the Shen Gong Wu Omi?"

"Of course," Omi said proudly.

"Remember how Wuya got her body back?"

"Yeah, with the Reversing Mirror and the Serpent's Tail," Omi said.

"We need to fight the Dark Queen and we can't do that if we can't touch her," Raimundo said. "We need to give her a body."

**I hope you liked it and I hope it made up for the stupidly long wait. I also hope you're prepared for another wait because I don't know when I'll be able to update again. I will assure you though, no matter how long it takes, I'm extremely proud of this story and I'm not giving up on it so know that there is definitely an update coming, I just don't know when. Anyways, sorry again for the wait and the fact that this chapter isn't as good as the others but please remember to review.**


	34. The Battle Begins

**Yey, internet! Not much longer than the last chapter but definitely not rushed.**

**Chapter 34**

**The Battle Begins**

Leigh was returned, a little bloody but surprisingly unharmed when compared to the state Sampson had been brought back in. She was, however, much quieter than usual, choosing to simply sit and listen to the conversations of others rather than join in with them.

Omi, Clay, Kimiko, Raimundo and Sampson were gathered in a corner, apart from the others, quietly going over their plans.

"We need a way of getting her here, or getting all of us into her throne room," Raimundo said.

"How?" Clay asked.

"I think we'll have to make a fake escape plan to lure her here."

"Is that really going to work though?" Clay asked, looking sceptical. "How could we possibly escape from this room when we can't even see where the door is unless it's being opened?"

"Then we wait until it is being opened," Omi said. "Then ambush whatever is behind it."

"Exactly," Raimundo said with a slight nod. "If we start to rebel she'll have to come and sort us out won't she. And we'll be ready for her when she does."

"It could be ages before one of those _things_ come back though. They've already taken you, Sampson and Leigh. What if she doesn't need to speak to anyone else?"

Sampson, who was still very pale, had not said much so far.

"It _could _be ages, but it will happen. And when it does I think it mostly likely they'll be coming for me. She said she needed me for something," Raimundo explained.

"For what?" Kimiko asked, looking stricken.

"She didn't say," Raimundo answered looking unconcerned. He cast his eyes around the room, gave a small smile to Leigh who was sitting with her back against the wall nearby, her eyes fixed firmly on them. She did not return the smile. Noting this, Raimundo turned back to the Xiaolin warriors. "If anyone has a better plan I'd like to hear it, but that's the best I can come up with."

There was a silence in which all of them stared at Omi, who struggled to think, then, sighing, shook his head.

"I think it's the only way," Omi said.

"Then we're agreed?" Raimundo said.

Each of them gave a small nod. Omi passed the Reversing Mirror to Raimundo who hid it carefully down his T-shirt. Omi concealed the Serpent's Tail up his sleeve. All of them looked worried.

"This could go horribly wrong," Sampson said, speaking for the first time.

"I know. What if we give her more power instead? Like Wuya did when she got her body back," Clay asked.

"This is different to Wuya," Kimiko said calmly. "Wuya was meant to have a body and hers was taken away so she had nothing when she was a ghost. The Dark Queen is meant to be this spirit-thingy and that's how she has her powers. Right?" she added, glancing at Raimundo who nodded.

"I'm not saying we'll strip her of her powers by doing this. But it'll make her solid and we'll at least stand a chance of fighting her," Raimundo said.

They all fell silent after that, quietly contemplating the dangerousness of what they were planning. Raimundo kept throwing quick glances at Leigh who had not moved for a long time. As far as he was aware, she had not even blinked, but he decided this was not the time to mention this to his friends. Kimiko, meanwhile, was giving Abi, who seemed to be contemplating marching straight over to them and possibly attempting to show Raimundo who the better girl was, warning looks.

Time crept by and still the hidden door remained hidden. Sampson was regaining some of his strength and Clay noticed he seemed to be giving Raimundo a lot of contemptuous looks when Raimundo's attention was elsewhere. Clay thought back to the short battle in France, when Kimiko had almost lost her life and wondered what had transpired between them. He was sure it hadn't been anything good for their team. Unfortunately Raimundo caught Sampson at this and raised his eyebrows. Sampson flushed but did not look away. Clay cleared his throat loudly, making Omi, who was sat right next to him and hadn't noticed a thing, jump with fright. Sampson glanced at Clay then looked down at the floor. Kimiko was staring determinedly in the opposite direction and her eyes fell on Leigh, who appeared to have moved slightly closer to where they were grouped in the corner. Leigh stared blankly at Kimiko and Kimiko shuddered and looked quickly away, now catching Raimundo's eye and knowing he had already noticed the strangeness of Leigh Carter's behaviour. Raimundo got up and walked a few feet away from the Xiaolin warriors, motioning for Kimiko to follow him. Then he turned to her and said in a low voice so no one would overhear, "She's been like that ever since they brought her back."

"What's wrong with her?" Kimiko asked.

"I've no idea," Raimundo admitted. "But she looks worse every time I look at her. She's paler and her eyes have gone bloodshot."

"I don't like this," Kimiko whispered.

"Me either," Raimundo replied. "I think the sooner we get our chance against the Dark Queen the better."

"Rai..." Kimiko said tentatively. "What'll happen if we lose?"

"Then we try again," Raimundo said simply.

"...I meant-"

"I know what you meant," Raimundo snapped. "...Sorry. But you can't think like that Kimiko. We can't afford to think like that. If we think negatively it'll affect our fighting."

"Rai..."

"I've learned enough in this war to know that that sort of thinking can get you in trouble."

"Yes, but look-"

"We're not going to lose, okay?"

"No, Raimundo, listen-"

"It'll be alright."

"Her eyes are bleeding."

"...What?" Raimundo asked, a rapid sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realised that Kimiko's gaze was fixed slightly to his right. He turned and saw Leigh Carter, sitting exactly where she had been before. Trickles of blood were running down her cheeks from the corners of her eyes, whose whites had turned completely red. Rather than turning pale, small blotches of black were blooming on her skin and her body was trembling.

"Leigh!" Raimundo yelled in fright. All heads turned to face Leigh and several people screamed and backed away as blood began to blossom on her clothes.

"What's happening to her?" a woman cried fearfully.

"What did the Dark Queen do to her?" someone else asked.

"I think...I think she _is_ the Dark Queen," Omi said.

"What on earth are you talking about?" the woman who had screamed said, a trace of hysterical laughter in her voice.

"I think he's right," Raimundo said slowly. "I think she's possessed Leigh but Leigh's body can't sustain her."

At that moment, Leigh let out an unearthly scream that caused almost everyone in the room to clap their hands over their ears and scream too. Leigh fell face first onto the floor, her body convulsing violently, still screaming.

"OMI!" Raimundo bellowed, pulling the Reversing Mirror out from beneath his T-shirt and running towards Leigh, a thing no one else dared do. "We'll see if our theory works!"

His face set, Omi slipped the Serpent's Tail out from his sleeve and began to charge towards Leigh.

"_Serpent's Tail!"_

"_Reversing Mirror!"_

There was a blinding flash of bright light and a deafening bang. The room shook violently, knocking most people off their feet.

Then a dreadful silence fell. Raimundo and Omi had been thrown backwards, as if repelled by some sort of magnetic force field. Leigh Carter lay face down on the floor and it was unclear whether she was alive or dead. But all eyes were on the figure in the centre of the room. A woman with long, silky black hair that fell to her waist, flawless, paper white skin, slanted, pale blue eyes, almost the same shade as Alexis' had been and full, red lips. She was dressed in a short skirt made on several layers of black netting and numerous crisscrossing black belts, from which silver chains hung from, a black top with a picture of a delicate looking red rose inside of a diamond and long flowing sleeves, and black boots that went almost all the way up to her knees. She was extremely beautiful. She stood examining her long, slender fingers and stretching out her arms with an expression of wonder on her face. Then she ran her fingers through her hair, which seemed to flow through them like water. Then she turned slowly, gracefully, on the spot to face Raimundo who had gotten gingerly to his feet and said, "What have you done to me?"

Kimiko realised, with a sense of overwhelming relief, that the Dark Queen had been stripped of at least some of her powers. Far from the hellish, unearthly voice Raimundo had described, her voice was soft and gentle.

"We've given you a human form," Raimundo said. "So now it's a fair fight."

"Why?"

"Why did you do that to Leigh?" Raimundo spat, pointing to Leigh's still form.

"I wanted to hear what you were planning."

"A lot of good it did you!" someone jeered.

The Dark Queen looked down at herself, the same expression of wonder on her face. She ran her hands down her skirt, over her thighs. Then her arms fell to her sides, his fists clenched and she glared at Raimundo. In a voice barely more than a whisper she said, "How could you do this to me?" and then she opened her right hand, where a small ball of black mist was spinning, rapidly growing larger and larger, drawing black strands out of thin air like a ball of wool being rolled up. Raimundo was staring at it, transfixed. Only when the Dark Queen drew back her hand, ready to throw, did someone move. With a terrified, enraged shriek, Abi threw herself at Raimundo, knocking him to the floor. Raimundo yelled in fright and pain as his arm twisted under him. The ball of black mist, now as large as a football, hit Abi squarely in the chest. Her fierce eyes widened in uncomprehending shock and her body went rigid. Then she collapsed to the floor in a heap, her eyes open. Empty.

Silence.

Then...

"ABI!" Raimundo launched himself across the floor towards where Abi lay and then he took her by the shoulders and shook her roughly, as though trying to rouse a heavy sleeper. Abi's head lolled on her shoulders, but her eyes remained blank. Unseeing. Indifferent. Dead.

Hot, angry tears welled in Raimundo's eyes as he laid Abi back on the floor and slowly turned to face the Dark Queen who had simply stood and watched him, silent as the rest of the warriors in the room.

"You BITCH!" Raimundo roared and this time he threw himself at the Dark Queen, who made no sound but was taken by surprise. The two of them fell backwards to the floor and that was when the surrounding crowd started to shriek. Kimiko darted forwards and seized Raimundo under the armpits, attempting to drag him away from the Dark Queen but having no success.

"Raimundo you can't just attack like that, she'll kill you!" Kimiko cried, tears of desperation filming her eyes. The Dark Queen threw a punch at Raimundo which looked a lot stronger than her delicate arms seemed capable of. The she threw a jet of red light at him which ripped through his arm and Kimiko's hand, causing both of them to cry out in pain and blood splashed to the floor. Several people, Omi, Clay and Sampson included, ran forward and helped Kimiko drag Raimundo away from the Dark Queen. The Dark Queen allowed them to, but she was already prepared for a fight. Her hands were balled into fists again and her heavy boot-clad feet were set slightly apart. Her long hair hung in front of her face and blew slightly as she breathed heavily.

Raimundo was still struggling to free himself from the grips of many hands.

"I'll kill you!" he screamed at the Dark Queen. "You've killed one too many people! You hear me? This war ends today!"

**Just a few more chapters to go I think. Ooooh. I hope you liked it. Remember to review!**


	35. The Second Puzzle Box

**Paaainfully slow updates but to be completely honest with you, I'm working without a plan now and I'm now very good at writing that way so once again I deeply, deeply, deeply apologise for the several month gap and I can only hope that my inspiration never takes that long to strike again. It was painful for me too. If you actually were waiting for this chapter (wishful thinking I know) then thank you so much for your patience and I can only hope it was worth it.**

**The Second Puzzle Box**

**Chapter 35**

"Do not make the mistake of thinking you have weakened me by giving me this form," the Dark Queen said delicately as Raimundo tore away from the restraining arms around him and stood, panting, hair falling into his eyes which were fixed firmly and fiercely on the Dark Queen. "You still cannot defeat me."

"You wanna bet?" Raimundo asked, an almost maniacal grin spreading across his lips, making him look so terrifying that some of the soldiers took several steps away from him.

"What are you going to do, little boy?" the Dark Queen crooned. "I am stronger than you and I possess a much more powerful army."

"I don't need a fucking army to kill you, I'll do it with my bare fucking hands!" Raimundo growled.

"Raimundo," said a gentle voice from the corner. Master Fung had spoken for one of the first times since their arrival. "If you attack out of anger and a desire for vengeance, you will lose."

Raimundo glared at Master Fung for a moment but Master Fung gazed calmly back, unflinching, and Raimundo dropped his gaze. He looked instead at Abi's lifeless form.

"She knew that thing was going to kill me," Raimundo said slowly. Quietly. "And she saved me."

"She gave her life for you," Omi said. "Do not repay her by getting yourself killed only minutes later."

"I'm not going to get myself killed!" Raimundo yelled so loudly his voice echoed off the crystal walls and bounced back at him. He put his hands over his eyes and moaned softly. All the while, the Dark Queen stood silently, her gaze never leaving Raimundo.

"If we can't just fight her, what are we going to do? She's here _now_," Raimundo said quietly, his voice muffled by his hands.

"You have no choice in the matter Raimundo," The Dark Queen said. "If you live past this day, perhaps you will learn from your mistakes and think your plans through more thoroughly before you act."

"I didn't have a choice then either did I?" Raimundo said. "When that was happening to Leigh."

"She's alive," the Dark Queen said.

Raimundo glanced up at her, green eyes peering out from between his fingers to create a childish and rather comical image.

"She's strong," the Dark Queen said. "How strong are you Raimundo?"

For the second time, Raimundo lunged at the Dark Queen and no one held him back. The hidden door flew open and hundreds of the shrouded corpses hovered into the room, announced by screams from several of the Xiaolin fighters.

Without a second thought, Kimiko, Omi, Clay and Sampson threw themselves into the fight, launching attacks on the shrouded creatures as if they had been doing it all along and there had never been an interruption. There was only a seconds pause before the rest if the Xiaolin army joined the fray.

"You should call them off, Raimundo," the Dark Queen said in her soft silky voice as her brutally strong arms pinned him down to the floor. "Unless you want to be responsible for all of their deaths."

"Who says they'll die?" Raimundo panted, shoving the Dark Queen away from him. She stumbled backwards, chains on her skirt jingling but she recovered quickly, composure and all, despite the chaos around her. She smiled.

"I've never lost before Raimundo," she said.

"Well there's a first time for everything," Raimundo snarled. He threw a punch at her but she side stepped him easily.

"You need to do better than that, honey," she giggled girlishly.

"If you've never lost before then how come it took you so long to come out of _hiding_?" Raimundo snapped, aiming another blow at her which she again avoided with minimal effort. He could hear his blood pounding in her ears from fury and determination.

"I wasn't hiding. Simply...waiting," the Dark Queen said. In a sudden, swift move, she threw her own punch at Raimundo which sent him reeling backwards, narrowly missing slamming into one of the shrouded creatures but his arm flew through what should have been its shoulder and came out bleeding and burning with pain. He let out a scream of pain which went unnoticed in the mass of noise around him.

"The trick is to wait until the enemy isn't expecting it," the Dark Queen said, standing over Raimundo with her hands on her knees, wide blue eyes innocent and a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. With a jolt Raimundo realised how beautiful she was and quickly glanced away. The Dark Queen clicked her fingers in his face.

"Over here handsome," she said sweetly, in a melodic voice. She reached down and took Raimundo's hand, pulling him to his feet. He noted how soft her skin was, impossible for one so miraculously strong.

"How come we've never heard of you before this war?" he asked.

"You simply haven't looked hard enough," the Dark Queen answered with a wide smile. She kicked out with her heavy boots and caught Raimundo in the stomach. He stumbled backwards, winded and clutching his stomach.

"You're making this too easy Raimundo. Are you really the strongest of your army? Do you still think you can win?"

She advanced on him.

**.:.:.:.**

Kimiko chanced a quick glance at Raimundo and the Dark Queen while her enemy was distracted by an attack Sampson had thrown. It was a very brief, second long glance, but enough to determine that Raimundo wasn't doing well.

_I knew we should have thought this through_ Kimiko thought desperately. Well, too late now. So far neither she nor Sampson had managed to land an attack on the shrouded creature. She remembered the advice Leigh Carter had given- to surprise them- but it was difficult under these circumstances. Leigh had been much more successful in the past in dealing with these monsters as she had simply patrolled the streets and snuck up on them. With everyone here, battling each other, it was hard to find a good moment to surprise one. Then an idea occurred. She leaped over a jet of blue the shroud threw at her and, without stopping to think, spun around and aimed a hard punch at the back of the head of a shroud battling Clay behind her. There was a sick thud and she felt something grotesquely soft that made her whimper with disgust and made her feel a brief moment of gratitude for the cloak- but it was definitely solid. The figure pitched forward, arms flailing in shock, and hit the floor in an explosion of dust and foul smelling gas. This time Kimiko was unable to stop herself and she vomited onto the crystal floor. In her moment of distraction, another cloaked figure charged at her. She shrieked, holding up her arms protectively, forgetting they would make no difference. Then something bumped into her from her left, knocking her to the floor. Sampson had shoved her out of the way. He went down with her but his legs were still in the cloaked creature's path and the thing went straight through them. Sampson howled in agony as a burning-freezing sensation engulfed his legs and then blood began to soak through his clothes.

"Sampson!" Kimiko cried. Sampson tried to get up but his legs would not support him and he tumbled to the floor again. Whimpering, Kimiko crawled towards him. Sweat was breaking out on his forehead and a low moan of agony was sounding deep in his throat.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Kimiko cursed under her breath. She glanced wildly around the room but Omi was out of sight now. Sampson's eyes had closed and his breathing was uneven. He had lost so much blood already. "Don't you dare die on me Sammy," Kimiko breathed. "Don't you dare." She struggled to her feet, wrapped her arms around Sampson and heaved him into the air. She was immediately soaked in blood and her mind kept straying back to the battle in Wuya's palace when she had carried Jack this way. No matter how much she willed her mind into the present, the memory persisted and a feeling of déjà vu washed over her. After scanning the room more carefully she established that Omi was not here at all.

There door The Dark Queen's army had entered through was still open- the first time they had been careless enough to leave it open- and the battle had spilled out into the crystal corridors. More memories of the battle in Wuya's palace threatened to invade and Kimiko forced them away. She shoved through the crowd of fighters, kicking aside anyone in her way and not stopping to see if they were friend or foe. She reached the door, surveyed the room again, frightened she may have missed Omi and was now taking Sampson further away from rescue. She still could see him so she turned and ran from the room.

"Omi!" she called, struggling to make her voice heard over the screams and shouts and thuds and bangs and the fighters around her. Following instincts she wasn't entirely sure about, she ran down the corridor to the left. "Omi? It's going to be okay Sammy I promise. Omi?" Sampson was unconscious but Kimiko spoke to him anyway, as if treating him like he was alive and well would make him so.

"_It won't though. He's just as dead as Jack. He saved your life but you can't save his,"_ part of her mind insisted.

"Well this brings back memories," she said aloud and a loud cackle escaped her. It ended abruptly when she heard how mad it sounded. "Oh god," she groaned. "I'm going mad, I'm going mad. Don't die Sampson okay? Don't die." She continued to storm through the twisting corridors, all of which looked exactly the same as the last.

**.:.:.:.**

Raimundo hit the hard floor with a thump and all the wind left him. He gasped and coughed.

"Wuya must have been very weak if you were able to take her down," The Dark Queen taunted. "Although she always has been weak. Some things never change."

"Always?" Raimundo asked. He struggled to his feet. "She said she didn't know who you were. How do you know her?"

"Did she now?" The Dark Queen asked, mock hurt on her face. "Naughty, naughty Wuya."

Raimundo thought back to his battle with Wuya, forcing himself to remember her exact words...

_"The only thing you'll accomplish in beating me is allowing the Dark Queen to take over completely!" Wuya snapped, her voice brittle with the pain she was trying to conceal._

_"Who is she Wuya?" Raimundo asked. He was unable to stop himself._

_Wuya looked at him for a moment, blood seeping through the fingers she had pressed to her newest wound. "I...I don't know," she said finally. When Raimundo's gaze did not falter she said, "I really don't. I don't know anything about her other than she has an army of god knows whatever they are and she wants to take over the world."_

That hesitation before she said she didn't know... Raimundo hadn't thought about it before. What was she about to say before she changed her mind?

"Who are you?" Raimundo demanded. Blood trickled from his forehead and into his right eye and he wiped it away absently with the back of his hand.

"Telling you would just take all the fun out of it," The Dark Queen grinned. "I'll tell you what Dragon, if you can beat me, I'll tell you. But if I beat you, you have to join me. It seems such a waste to destroy talent, bravery and strength such as yours."

Raimundo stared at her for a moment and then snarled, "Deal."

"Good. I should tell you though, you can't win you know. I promise you that."

**.:.:.:.**

Omi hurtled down a corridor, three of the cloaked figures close behind him and bowling everyone out of their way. Omi's breath came evenly and he felt able to run forever. Unfortunately, the palace didn't go on forever and he would have to stop eventually and face what was behind him. Another creature swooped through an archway to his left, making a grab for him and, with a yell, Omi ducked under its reaching arms and slid along the floor before leaping to his feet and continuing to run, never once stopping. The newcomer joined the pursuit. These same three creatures (now four) had been chasing Omi for the last ten minutes, never stopping to attack anyone else. Omi felt sure the Dark Queen now knew who carried the most important Shen Gong Wu. But why was she this desperate to get it? Before today she'd never even had a physical form and all her soldiers were already dead. It could just be to stop the Xiaolin army from healing itself and give them a greater possibility for defeat, but somehow Omi didn't think so.

The chase continued and Omi began to rethink his idea that the palace couldn't go on forever. It certainly seemed to. He chanced a quick glance over his shoulder and saw that there were now five cloaked things gliding down the corridor after him and they weren't far behind. He faced forward and pushed his legs harder, almost throwing himself forward. He dodged around battling bodies and ducked under thrown attacks, hoping to get lost amongst the chaos but the distance between him and his pursuers always remained the same.

He turned a corner and ran straight into a solid wall. A dead end. He gazed up towards the ceiling high above his head, eyes wide as he realised what this meant for him. He turned. The corridor stretched out ahead of him and he cursed himself for taking the wrong turning.

"I knew I should have turned left!" he cried. The five shrouded monsters rounded the corner and advanced on him. He backed into the wall, trying to put as much distance between himself and them as possible but he knew it was hopeless.

Then the world went dark and he felt a sensation of falling. Then silence.

**.:.:.:.**

"You've got to stay with me, Sammy. You've got to. Think about your sister. How could you leave her?"

Sampson remained just as still as ever. All colour had drained from his face and his clothes had turned scarlet with blood. Tears dripped steadily onto his face as Kimiko wept in desperation, struggling through the battling crowd in search of Omi even though all hope of finding him in time was lost. If there was any time left. She hadn't stopped to check. Just like Jack.

Someone knocked into her from the left and she stumbled to the floor, Sampson dropping from her arms and hitting the floor with a thud that made her wince.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" the person said. She pulled Kimiko to her feet, jabbering repeatedly apologies but Kimiko neither saw her nor heard her as she roughly shoved her aside and hauled Sampson back into her arms.

"Oh god, is he alright?" the woman asked.

"_Does he look fucking alright to you?"_ Kimiko snapped. The woman recoiled, as if stung. "Either tell me where Omi is or get out of my way."

"He went that way a while ago," the woman said pointing to a long hallway to her right, seeming relieved to have something good to say. Kimiko pushed past her and stumbled down the hallway. With a squeal she didn't hear, she ducked under a jet of blue thrown by one of the Dark Queen's soldiers at a member of the Xiaolin army. She didn't look back to see if it had hit its target.

"This is ridiculous," she groaned after five more minutes of fruitless searching. "He never shut up during the entire time you've known him, he drives you absolutely crazy always thinking he can help, then when he actually _can_ help you can't fucking find him!" She looked down at Sampson. "You're not even listening are you? Because you're dead. I've spent too much of my time trying to save people who are already dead when I could probably have saved loads of others just by taking down as many enemies as possible. But nope, you get hurt and have to help you." She rounded another corner, hopped over a dust covered cloak on the floor without looking at it, kicked a woman out of her way and continued to storm down the corridor. "I love you Sampson. You know that don't you? Maybe not like you'd want me to, but I do love you. You were right, you could never replace Rai, but you gave it a good go." She laughed a little. The sound was sad in her own ears. "I wish we could have met under different circumstances. I knew you'd be the kind of person I could really like from the moment I met you. But allowing that to happen while Rai was still missing would have felt like admitting defeat and I couldn't do that. Because I love him. I really love him. I'd do anything for him. I'd go to the end of the Earth for him. The end of the world for him." She sighed. "I'd die for him."

"Well ain't that sweet," an all too familiar voice said from behind her. She spun around and heaved an enormous sigh of relief as more tears poured from her eyes.

"Clay!"

"You looking for Omi?" Clay asked, his eyes on Sampson. They looked empty of hope and Kimiko knew it but he didn't say it and she appreciated him for that.

"Yes," she said.

"I saw him a while back. I think the Dark Queen knew he had the Healing Hand. About five of those things were after him. Never stopped once to go for anyone else. I haven't seen him since."

"Oh god," Kimiko said, for the first time realising that she was crying.

"I'm surprised you even managed to get this far."

"It hasn't been easy," she said. She gave a loud hysterical laugh.

"I'll help you." He didn't take Sampson from her for which she was also grateful. Instead he placed himself in front of her and began battling his way through the crowd so all Kimiko had to do was follow close behind.

"Leigh Carter's alright you know," Clay called over his shoulder as he mercilessly shoved a desperate kissing couple aside with a grunt of annoyance. "Save it for when we win," he snapped at them.

"Is she?" Kimiko asked, not sparing the couple a single glance.

"Omi managed to heal her before those things went after him. That's probably how they found out he had that Shen Gong Wu."

"Do you...Do you know how Rai's doing?" Kimiko asked tentatively.

"Last I knew he was still fighting Her Majesty. Not doing too badly either, all things considered," he said and there was a faint but definite hint of pride in his tone. Kimiko couldn't help but allow a small smile to grace her lips. She hugged Sampson closer to her chest and hurried after Clay down the corridor.

**.:.:.:.**

Narrowly avoiding a kick in the gut from one of those heavy boots, Raimundo skidded under another fighting pair's attack and still remained on his feet. He threw his arms in the air as if he had just performed a spectacular stunt and an imaginary audience was applauding him. Then he was serious again as the Dark Queen advanced.

"You're doing a good job of surviving, I'll give you that. But you haven't managed any good attacks yet. You won't win," the Dark Queen said.

"You keep saying. I wonder if you're really as confident as you're making out to be," Raimundo panted, pushing hair out of his eyes.

"Oh Raimundo, I'm merely toying with you," the Dark Queen said, giggling and batting her long eyelashes. The chains on her skirt jingled menacingly as she leaped at him, one hand catching by the throat, the other propelling them both forward until Raimundo slammed against the wall. "I haven't shown you the worst I can do yet. A trick I got from dear Grand Master Dashi."

"Dashi?" Raimundo choked. "What's he got to do with this?"

"Have you even done any research at all?" the Dark Queen asked, her eyes bright with sadistic pleasure as her fingers closed around Raimundo's airway and fire seemed to lick from her fingers and consume his body. He would have screamed in agony if her hand had not been around his throat. It felt like his very blood was on fire.

"Dashi needed me, but he knew how dangerous I was so he created a magical object that had the power to heal those I'd injured and lock me away if need be. Do you know what that object it?"

"The Healing Hand..." Raimundo could speak no more as the hand tightened.

"That's right sweetheart. Unfortunately, you're not going to be around much longer to tell anyone."

Blood was seeping into Raimundo's clothes from wounds he hadn't had a moment ago.

**.:.:.:.**

"What is this place?" Omi asked himself, his voice echoing in the silence. He was still unsure of what had happened. Through where he had entered the room was a solid wall and all sounds of fighting were completely silenced. One moment he had been cornered, the next the wall seemed to have melted away behind him and he had fallen into what he had believed to be oblivion. Only to realise it wasn't, and he was alive. His pursuers hadn't followed him. Darkness enfolded him like a gigantic blanket and he peered through it, trying to see where he was. However, at the sound of his voice, flames flickered to life, stinging his eyes and making his recoil. Once his eyes had adjusted he was able to look around. The room was empty, like everywhere else in the palace it seemed, except for a wooden table in the centre of the room, upon which a dozen candles flickered. On the walls were ancient looking carvings.

Slowly, Omi approached the table. Now he saw a small scroll lying amongst the candles. The table was filmed with a thick layer of dust, as if no one had been in the room for centuries, and when he picked up the delicate looking scroll it left a clan spot on the table. He unrolled it. It was so fragile he felt sure a single gust of wind would have torn a hole right through it and he was careful not to joggle it too much. On it was one single drawing; The Healing Hand of Dashi. He gently placed the scroll on the table, unearthing great clouds of dust that he didn't notice, and pulled the Shen Gong Wu out of his tunic where he had kept it safe. He examined it, comparing it to the drawing on the scroll. Then he tipped the Shen Gong Wu and gasped when he saw the bottom. It was elaborately carved with symbols similar to those on the walls of the room. He seized one of the candles and carried it towards one of the walls and began to compare the symbols. They weren't just similar, they were exactly the same. Unfortunately, he had no idea what they said. But his tiger instincts were telling him that this was it. This was the way to defeat the Dark Queen.

**Only a few chapters to go I think (I saw **_**think**_** because, as I said, I'm writing without a plan now, it could span out still). But anyways, I hope you liked it and please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, **_**please**_** review!**


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